No Sign of Life
by Mayushii
Summary: SAISEI #1. Because I can't be the only one who noticed some inconsistencies in the original story, right? Covers Yusuke's death, his resurrection, and the beginning of his first case as Spirit Detective. Yusuke/Keiko/Botan, some Koenma/Botan, implied Hiei/Kurama. First in a full series rewrite.
1. Congratulations! You Are Deceased!

No Sign of Life

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Something I never intended to write, but then realized I had to write in order for the end of Colorblind to make sense. Ended up being a lot darker than I thought it would be. Good thing we have Kuwabara and Botan to brighten things up! :D Anyway, this pares down the first two volumes of the manga to a single "pilot" episode, roughly the length of two normal episodes. It should have four chapters when it's finished. Hopefully I'll be able to lay a solid foundation for the characters without including the drawn-out scenarios of the manga/anime.

**-Read all the way to the end of this chapter for a special prize! :D**

* * *

Prologue

_Your world is in danger._

_And deep down, in your subconscious, maybe you know it._

_How many times have you seen inklings of it on the news? Someone goes missing, and it's a big story at first, but then it quietly fades into the background when there are no new leads. Disappeared without a trace. Or how about the murders, grisly slayings, that somehow never have a culprit? Or worse, when there is a culprit: someone who seemingly went insane, hearing voices, seeing things? How about those "unbelievable" stories that sometimes crop up—that, no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they're just hoaxes, still make you uneasy?_

_And how about the things you never hear about on the news? For example, just this week, did you know that your planet was on the brink of total destruction? And did you know that, through some form of divine intervention, your planet was saved? You might not have seen it on the news, but deep down, maybe you felt it._

_There are things that normal humans can't see, can't hear, can't begin to understand. But sometimes, if you reach deep enough, you can feel it._

_Do you feel it?_

* * *

Congratulations! You Are Deceased!

The morning sun cast Tokyo in a yellow-orange glow, slightly warming the wintry city. Birds chirped softly from the scarce trees, calling out to each other to see if friends had made it through the cold night, while stray dogs and cats snuck out of the trashcans and cardboard boxes they called home. All over the city, kids could be seen on their way to their respective schools: girls and boys sporting tartan skirts, trousers and blazers in the richer uptown, older sailor uniforms in the poorer parts. In one particular middle-class district, students in medium-blue sailor fuku and dark blue gakuran made their way to Sarayashiki Public High School.

Sunlight snuck through a set of orange curtains, a sliver of warmth falling across a television screen.

"Ugh. Every morning…" Atsuko Urameshi reached up to close the curtains and banish that pesky light from her apartment. She picked up the TV remote and pressed the little red button, only to frown and shake it. No response. "Tch, typical." She tossed the remote, walked two meters forward, wiped a coating of dust off the screen, and pushed the button on the front panel.

"_—__no suspects as of yet, but target areas seem to include Kasanegafuchi and Sarayashiki—_"

Atsuko returned to her futon in the middle of the living room, lay on her side, and propped her head up with one hand as she stared vacantly at the morning news.

"_—__this rash of kidnappings, and we hope that everyone taking their children out in public will keep an extra-close watch on them,_" the reporter said, finishing up his live coverage just as a soccer ball came flying from the playground behind him and bashed him in the head. The picture hastily cut back to the studio, where the attractive newswoman sat laughing behind her hand. "_B-back to you, Miss Natsuya! Owww…_"

"_Thank you! We'll now bring you the weather! It looks like another day of cloudy gray skies, but don't let that dampen your mood. Today is a great day to catch up on indoor activities…_"

Some scuffling sounds from behind her made Atsuko blink lazily.

"What are you doing up?" she asked, without taking her eyes off the television.

In the kitchen, a teenaged boy with his teeth clenched around a slice of bread turned to blink at his mother. The hero of this story? Yeah, right. Yusuke Urameshi might have the youthful good looks you might expect from a hero, with silky black hair and a pair of big amber eyes to boot, but at the moment he was doing his absolute best to erase any appearance of niceness. His hair was slicked back gangster-style, his lips were turned down in a frown, and his big pretty eyes were so devoid of interest you might have thought boredom was a trait he'd inherited directly from Atsuko. He wore the dark blue uniform of Sarayashiki High, the pants slightly baggy while the jacket was cut shorter and tighter than ought to be allowed.

Yusuke closed his eyes and turned his nose up with an unapologetic sniff. Pretending that he hadn't heard the question, he grabbed a cheap plastic mug from the cabinet, filled it with yesterday's cold coffee, shoved the cup in the open microwave and set it for thirty seconds.

"Hey, Yusuke," Atsuko grumbled warningly as the microwave began to drone.

Yusuke finally removed the piece of bread from his mouth and chewed, only to make a face. The bread was older than he'd thought; it was starting to taste like dirt. Oh well, it wasn't like a little mold would kill him.

"Mmph… What do you think I'm doing up?" Yusuke asked. He swallowed. "It's Tuesday."

"What's your point?" Atsuko pressed.

"Gee, Mom, let me think. Where would a school-age boy be going on a Tuesday morning…"

"Oh please. Do you think I was born yesterday?" Atsuko lit a cigarette, took a drag, and then waved her hand dismissively, sending smoke swirling through the air. "That teacher of yours, Takenaka, called me last night. He says you haven't been to school in three days. If you don't do well in school and get yourself a good job, you'll never make anything of yourself. You'll be a waste of air, just like your daddy was." Unaware of Yusuke's souring expression, Atsuko blew some smoke up above her head. "So where are you really going, anyway? Off to some gang meeting? Drugs? Stolen goods? Hmph. I wouldn't be surprised if you're the one behind all those kidnappings…"

Yusuke didn't bother to answer any of her accusations. He simply put on his shoes and picked up his school bag from beside the door.

"Coffee in the microwave is for you," he said. "Later."

Some small shimmer returned to Atsuko's eyes as she finally turned to look at her son. But all she saw was the door as it clicked shut.

* * *

Atsuko might have been surprised to hear that her generally truant son had, in fact, gone to school. For some reason—possibly the viewing of late-night infomercials featuring losers who sold useless crap because they didn't have the skillset for a real job—Yusuke had gotten it into his head that he should try a little harder. So he'd washed his uniform last night, woken up early this morning, bathed and groomed himself and everything. Today, he had decided, was the day he'd make an effort.

That plan met its first serious mishap as he approached the gates of Sarayashiki High. Girls cowered when they saw him, and nearby boys walked hurriedly toward the gates in hopes of taking shelter in their classrooms. _"It's Urameshi!" "Not him again!" "What's he doing here?" "Hasn't he been expelled yet?" _Yusuke pretended not to hear the comments, keeping one hand in his pocket, his eyes closed and his nose in the air until he reached the center of the courtyard. Then he cracked his eyes open, his gaze sliding around the hundred or so kids who were staring at him.

"Hi," he said.

Students squeaked with terror and a few even made a run for the front doors. Yusuke snorted, unamused.

"Jeez. Didn't your mom ever teach you to say 'hello' when someone says 'hi'?"

One of the more popular boys, given a false sense of security by the presence of his entourage, stepped forward. Despite his fear-contorted expression and the drops of nervous sweat dripping down his face, he pointed an aggressive finger at Yusuke.

"W-we don't want any troublemakers in our school!" the boy spoke up. "Why don't you just turn around and go back where you came from?"

His followers all nodded in agreement. Yusuke sent the boy a look that instantly turned him blue.

"Wanna say that again?" Yusuke asked.

"D-don't hurt me!" the boy wailed, hiding behind his group of friends.

Yusuke scoffed in disgust. "Talk about a waste of air. Grow some backbone, will ya? I swear, there are only two kids at this school who can look me in the eye…"

And with that, Yusuke walked toward the school, the sea of students parting to form a clear path nearly seven meters wide. No one dared get any closer than that.

* * *

In Yusuke's homeroom, a teacher dug inside the deepest drawer of his desk for some spare markers. A portly, dark blond man in a sensible beige suit, Hideyoshi Takenaka was a senior staff member at Sarayashiki. Having years of experience yet retaining the fairness and dedication that had driven him to become a teacher in the first place, Takenaka happened to be the only adult at the school that could inspire any sort of respect in the rougher students. This meant that all of the thugs were put in his homeroom, since he was the only one who could deal with them effectively.

"Yo, Old Man."

Takenaka blinked and looked up. Speaking of thugs…

"Yusuke, you came!" His surprised and almost pleased expression turned to something a little stricter as he sat upright in his chair. "Hey. Unless I now have permission to call you _Yu-Yu-Cakes_ in class, you still have to call me _Mr. Takenaka_."

"Yeah, yeah, Takenaka," Yusuke said vaguely, making his way to his desk (while completely ignoring his petrified classmates). He dropped his bag on top of the desk and plopped down in the seat, already looking bored out of his skull.

_Well, it's better than Old Man,_ Takenaka thought, attempting to see the positive side. _Not up to where he should be, but he's making progress. I'll make something of him yet_. Takenaka raised a pen above the attendance book and marked Yusuke as present for the first time since last week.

* * *

A few hours later, the simulated chimes of Big Ben rang through the halls and students pulled out their box lunches, chatting and laughing with each other. Yusuke's desk was noticeably empty; he had left to find some privacy as soon as he'd heard the bell.

The classroom door slid open, and out walked someone with blue-toed uwabaki shoes and clean white socks. A few kids hanging out in the hallway glanced over, shook their heads and pointed upward. The girl passed two of her friends on her way to the stairs. Akemi, the taller girl with blond pigtails, looked like she wanted to reach out and stop her friend, but she didn't have the courage to do more than halfway raise a hand toward her. Natsuko, the shorter girl with dark hair and glasses, looked like she wanted to speak, but all she could do was drop her eyes to the floor and twiddle her fingers. Neither of them was brave enough to say what they thought.

* * *

On the rooftop, Yusuke walked up to a wall, turned around and leaned his back against it.

"Damn it," he breathed, sliding down the wall behind him. "What a waste of time…"

There was a loud squeak as someone turned the handle of the rooftop door. Yusuke blinked, his eyes widening and regaining their shine, and looked to see who had come to visit.

Staring right back at him was Keiko Yukimura, first year class representative. Every last inch of her marked her as a goody-goody, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head and everything in between. Her shoes were spotless, her socks scrupulously bleached to the correct shade of white. She wore the customary sailor uniform, the pleated skirt falling just above her knees and the yellow scarf tucked under the collar and tied into a neat knot at the front. Her hair was the worst: nice, shiny, straight brown hair that went down past her shoulders, which Yusuke might have considered pretty _if_ it weren't pulled into loose pigtails by means of two cherry-red ball hairties (the same fashion statement made by preschoolers worldwide).

"Keiko," Yusuke greeted her. "What's up?"

"You tell me," Keiko answered, looking more than a little miffed. "This is the first time in three days that I've seen you in school, and as soon as the bell rings you run out without even saying hi? When did we stop being friends?"

"Figured I should get out of there before someone else started harping on me for disrupting the natural order or whatever." He folded his arms behind his head, looking bored. "Do they have some sort of ban on me now?"

"You'd think so, the way you avoid school these days! Sheesh. I can't believe you got into high school in the first place. You couldn't have passed the entrance exams if you were really this lazy. So? What's gotten into you?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes, coincidentally looking away from her. It wasn't like he could tell her that he'd only studied hard so they could go to high school together… How pathetic would that sound?

"Oh, give me a break Keiko," he said instead. "What's it matter?"

"What does it _matter?_" Keiko asked, her voice rising in anger and disbelief. "You realize we're only a few weeks into the term and you've already skipped ten days?" She folded her arms crossly. "You won't be able to graduate if you keep this up! What's the point of working to get into high school if you're going to give up halfway through? There's no future for people like that! As if that weren't bad enough, you give our class a horrible attendance average, which gets _me_ in trouble as class representative. Why don't you try thinking of someone other than yourself for a change?" And now Keiko's arms unfolded, one hand going to her hip and the other wagging a finger like a proper mother scolding her misbehaving kid. "I know you aren't as bad as everyone says you are, but sometimes you make me wonder if you really have changed. _Are you listen—_eh?"

Keiko blinked, finally noticing that she was talking to a wall. Then she felt a cool breeze on the back of her legs.

"I knew it! Your panties are in a twist!" Yusuke remarked, one hand full of pleated blue skirt. His eyes became perverted half-moons as he reached greedily twitching fingers out toward the lacy pink panties. "Let me just help you with that…"

_SMACK._

Yusuke went crashing to the ground, an arc of blood trailing after him from his nose.

"Hah! Heck of a punch you got there!" Yusuke commented, grinning broadly as he rubbed his reddened cheek. He turned twinkling eyes up to Keiko, and the grin fell. Keiko was glaring down at him, her hand still stretched out to the side from the backhanded slap. Trembling, her face flushed with humiliation and twisted into an angry sneer, Keiko dropped her hand to her side. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes as she struggled to restrain herself.

"I've tried to be nice," she said softly, her voice shaking slightly. "Since we've been friends for so long, I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt…try to help you get back into the swing of things."

Her eyes snapped open, glaring down at Yusuke, who was suddenly looking at her with confusion and surprise.

"But you," her voice started to rise with every word, "are a shameless, _worthless piece of GARBAGE, YUSUKE URAMESHI! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GROW UP ALREADY?"_

Yusuke stared up at her for another moment, eyes wide open. Then, his expression closed off. He cursed under his breath, looking off to the side. Finally, he rose to his feet and headed for the door, shadows falling over his eyes.

"It was just a joke," Yusuke said dully.

"Well it's not funny."

Yusuke paused at the open door.

"Yeah. I'm starting to get that."

He walked out the door, closing it behind him. Keiko wrapped her arms around herself in a self-hug, staring at the ground in front of her, her face still red with shame and her eyes starting to glisten. She didn't know why she felt so bad about telling him off. Sure, Yusuke had just been joking—the same lame joke he'd been using since second grade—but that didn't excuse what he'd done. Once you reached a certain age, that sort of thing stopped being a prank and started being a serious offense, criminal even. If a stranger had done something like that, Keiko wouldn't have thought twice about having the creep arrested. Honestly, Yusuke had gotten off light…

_Stupid,_ she thought. Whether she meant Yusuke or herself was anyone's guess.

* * *

Yusuke was speeding down the hall, intent on getting out of this place as fast as he could, when he bumped into someone coming out of a classroom. He was briefly surprised that he was the one sent stumbling. Normally when he bumped into someone, it was the other guy who ended up on the floor. All the same…

"Jeez, watch where you're going!" Yusuke snarled.

"Urameshi… You came back. And here I thought my prayers had been answered," a low voice said behind him. Yusuke's expression darkened as he glanced over his shoulder. There he was, the biggest asshole of a teacher in the school. Despite the browline glasses that would normally mark Mr. Iwamoto as a wuss, there was a tall and muscled body underneath his ugly green suit. His skin was light brown and his nose was bumpy where it had been broken in the past. No one knew how Iwamoto's nose had come to be that way. One popular theory was that he'd been beaten up by a school bully when he was still just a kid, and this was why he was so tough on problem students. Another, equally popular theory was that his own mother had gotten so sick of him that she'd punched him in the face.

"Iwamoto," Yusuke said, voice guarded. He really didn't want to admit that this guy creeped him out. Yusuke was sure he could beat the hell out of Iwamoto if it came to that, but Iwamoto was a teacher and held a different kind of power. "Don't worry, I was just leaving."

"So soon? History class is right after lunch," Iwamoto said. "We're going to learn about the plagues carried by flea-bitten rats… I'd hate for you to miss that."

Yusuke narrowed his eyes, catching the insult. He kept his mouth shut and his gaze fixed on Iwamoto, but he could hear murmurs behind him. Great, now he had an audience. Just what he needed.

"Listen," Yusuke said slowly, "I don't care if you are a teacher. I'm not gonna just stand here and be insulted."

"No?" Iwamoto spread his hands out to his sides like he was welcoming a hug. "Then why don't you punch me? Hit your way out of this school forever?" He smiled, his eyes thinning with sadistic enjoyment. "It's not like you're meant to be here anyway…"

Yusuke growled ferociously, his hands clenched, his whole body tense and twitching. He could hear the comments whispered behind him. _"He's gonna do it!" "Urameshi's really going to hit him…!" "Good, then we'll never have to see him around here again!" "Come on, do it already…!"_

Yusuke's face twisted with disgust, and he finally whipped around and stalked away.

"Good boy! You're finally learning your place!" Iwamoto called tauntingly, making the boy break into a run. Yusuke ran right past the classroom Takenaka had just left.

"Ah—hey—Yusuke!" Takenaka called after him. He stared at Yusuke's retreating back, then turned to see what had made the delinquent run. When he saw the crowd dispersing and Iwamoto walking calmly away, he frowned and hurried after the other teacher. "Mr. Iwamoto! What happened here?"

"Hm?" Iwamoto glanced over his shoulder, then shrugged and looked away. "Urameshi was causing trouble. I put a stop to that."

Takenaka's frown deepened.

* * *

_Damn it, damn it, damn it! I hate this school! I hate this town!_ Yusuke ran until he was on a street he barely recognized. He stopped in the middle of the road and screamed to anyone who could hear: "DAMN IT! Could this day possibly get any stupider?!"

In answer to his question, three boys wearing Sarayashiki uniforms ran out from their hiding places and surrounded him. One of them, the guy with the shaved head named Sawamura, was carrying a picket sign reading _Protect Our Town!_ Yusuke glared around at them, recognizing the little gang.

"Kuwabara," he said coldly. "I'm only gonna warn you once. Back off or I'm putting you _and_ your buddies in the hospital this time."

"Oh, like I haven't heard that before!"

Yusuke heard a footfall behind him as the gang leader stepped forward. A tall, lean-faced young man, Kazuma Kuwabara looked like he could be in his early twenties. The only thing that might clue you in to his real age (barely two months older than Yusuke) was the Sarayashiki uniform. His hair was dyed a rusty blondish red and styled into an outdated punch-perm, and across his forehead was a long white bandana bearing the slogan _Real Men Love Their Town_.

"What are you doin' around here, Urameshi? You know this is where the Kasane punks keep tryin' to sneak in. You shouldn't be here unless you're here to help us wipe out the enemy. Ohhh! Are you gonna join my gang?" Kuwabara stroked his chin, the look on his face becoming entirely too pompous. "Heheheh! I got it all figured out now! I know, I know, we're the best, but there's some pretty strict requirements if you wanna be a part of Kuwabara's crew!" He held up a passionate fist, eyes shining as he imagined huge blocks of stone setting down each of his commandments. "First, you gotta get 50 points or higher on every test! Second, community service, at least one hour per week! Third, the new guy has to pay for lunch every Friday until we get a new member!"

One of the boys, Kirishima (who was far too rich and good-looking to be part of a real gang), held up a bicycle horn and squeaked it emphatically. The short chubby boy to Yusuke's right, Okubo, had tears streaming down his face. An imaginary arrow pointing toward him informed Yusuke that this was _the new guy, 23 weeks and counting._

Altogether, they were a ridiculous group. And in the face of such absurdity, Yusuke could feel his anger draining away. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't screaming anymore.

"Those sound like the requirements for an honor society, not a gang," Yusuke spoke up, half to point out the obvious and half in the hope of provoking some more enthusiastic rants. "Why would I wanna join you, anyway? You're just comic relief."

"Comic relief!" Kuwabara yelled with outrage. "I'll have you know we perform a very important function in this community! We keep the streets of Sarayashiki safe for everybody and—and—" Kuwabara pouted, close to tears when he heard Yusuke chuckling softly. "What are you laughing about?!"

Yusuke laughed out loud now, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Wow… I gotta hand it to you, that does make me feel better. Glad to know there are bigger losers than me around here."

"Hey, who are you calling losers?" demanded Sawamura.

"Oh, sorry, not you." Yusuke waved his hand dismissively and then pointed at Kuwabara. "Just him."

Kuwabara stared at him for a moment, hands twitching violently.

"You—you—" Kuwabara ran forward, his fist raised. "SHUT YOUR FACE!"

Yusuke's eyes gleamed as the bigger delinquent charged toward him. _Finally._ He stepped slightly to the side, dodging the initial attack, and threw a punch. The force behind Yusuke's fist combined with the force of Kuwabara's charge squashed the poor guy's diaphragm. Yusuke took a sideways step, turning around so he was behind Kuwabara, and cracked the heel of his hand up into Kuwabara's back just below the shoulderblade. There was a collective groan of sympathy from the other boys. More loud, unpleasant _smacks_ and _cracks_ followed, each marked by a flinch from Kuwabara's gang.

"Man, that's brutal," Kirishima said, watching with one eye squinted shut.

"Don't you think we should help him?" Okubo asked Sawamura.

"We can't do that. When it's just a personal fight, Kuwabara doesn't let other people interfere. 'One on one, that's the way real men handle their problems,'" Sawamura explained. "It's part of his code. You break this rule and he'll never forgive you."

"Oh." A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Okubo's face. "Okay…"

Yusuke drew back his fist for one last punch, sinking it into Kuwabara's stomach. This finishing blow hit so hard that Kuwabara was lifted off his feet and sent flying backwards. Watching Kuwabara's pained expression slacken into unconsciousness, something shifted in Yusuke. Whereas before his eyes had the bright, lively shine of a boy having fun with his best friend, now Yusuke's eyes turned dull with the realization that he had just insulted, provoked, and seriously injured a guy he really didn't know well at all. The air stopped flowing through Yusuke's lungs as he watched Kuwabara's fall like it was in slow motion.

_What…the hell am I doing?_ Yusuke thought, a cold shiver starting to creep up through his instinctive detachment.

The body landed, bounced a tiny bit, and finally came to rest on the ground.

"Kuwabara!"

Kirishima, Okubo and Sawamura ran to their leader, crouching down around him. Fast footfalls were heard, and Sawamura stared as Yusuke fled.

"Tch. Now he runs away?" he asked, frowning with disapproval.

"Kuwabara, hey!" Kirishima lightly slapped his leader's cheek until Kuwabara's eyes cracked open. "There you are. Come on, come on, how many fingers do you see?"

"I'm fine," Kuwabara said, pushing Kirishima's hand away (because he refused to admit he was seeing six fingers instead of just two).

"Kuwabara, maybe you should stop going near Urameshi," Okubo suggested.

"No!" The three boys jolted back, surprised by how forcefully their leader spoke and how suddenly he sat up. Kuwabara clenched his fist, his eyes shining with determination. "I'm not gonna give up. No matter how long it takes, someday, I swear…"

But Kuwabara trailed off. It wasn't clear why; maybe he didn't know exactly what he was hoping would come of his encounters with Yusuke Urameshi, or maybe he did know but just couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Knowing Kuwabara, he was probably convinced that talking about his aspirations would put a jinx on the whole thing.

* * *

In Sarayashiki Park, gray clouds rolled ominously over a cozy little playground.

Yusuke watched the peaceful scene from the grass, sitting with his back against a leafless tree that was barely big enough around to support his whole back. He stared, nearly catatonic, at the playground where toddlers happily played with their friends or the adults who were looking after them.

_Must be nice,_ Yusuke thought. He only remembered one time when he had gone to the park as a small boy. Every kid he played with went home after less than an hour, and he would watch them leave with their parents before looking around for his own mother. Of course, she had left hours earlier and wouldn't return until the playground closed at sunset. He remembered his joy at being able to play gradually fading, turning to worry the longer he waited. At the end of the day, the little pigtailed girl he'd made friends with had talked to her mom, and they both sat with him on the bench until Atsuko finally showed up…

Yusuke blinked dully. Was that a real memory? Could he remember things from that long ago, or was it just something he had made up? He didn't know. It felt more like a dream than reality.

After about an hour, Yusuke watched as a young woman, pretty but tired-looking and dressed in a gray tweed business suit, pulled a cellphone out of her pocket.

"Yes? Oh, Mr. Manager—" The woman turned away from the playground, cupping her hand over her ear so she could hear her boss better. "Tonight? Yes, I can do that… Yes…"

Yusuke observed with flat eyes as an overly thin, sunken-eyed couple who had been sitting together on a bench walked onto the playground. They approached the young woman's son with big, friendly smiles and a ball with a cartoon character's face on it. The little boy gasped with delight, reaching out for the toy. The couple, their smiles never leaving their bony faces, gave the ball to the boy. Then the bucktoothed man scooped the little boy up in his arms.

"Let's get you some milk, eh?"

"Muk!" the kid laughed.

The boy's mother, Michiru, laughed gently at her boss's joke.

"Yessir, I'll be sure to do that! Thank you! Goodbye." She turned the phone off, sighing with relief. She turned back toward the playground with a smile ready for her son. Her smile faded slightly when she didn't see him where he had been moments earlier.

"Masaru?" Her eyes skimmed over the playground once, then a second time. There was no familiar brown hair, no eye-catching splash of orange. Michiru's heart leapt into her throat as her eyes darted frantically around the area. "Masaru?! _Masaru?!_"

* * *

Not even a block away, in a dimly-lit little alley, the couple hurriedly pulled off Masaru's overalls and orange shirt and changed him into jeans, a sweatshirt and baseball cap.

"There we go! Something a little less recognizable!" the woman said, still using a warm, kid-friendly tone. Still smiling as her partner crumpled up the boy's more conspicuous clothes and tossed them in the dumpster behind him. "Now, why don't we go home?"

"Huhm?" Masaru asked, eyes wide and curious. "Mo-me?"

"Mm-hmm," the man said. Some of his unpleasant nature leaked into his smile. "Whatever you say."

The woman reached down to take Masaru's hand, but the little boy pulled his hand away, shoving a finger into his mouth to suck on it. The man grabbed the child's wrist, tugging the finger roughly out of his mouth. The boy whined and tried to wriggle away.

"Come on," the man tried to cajole the struggling child. "We're going to take a little trip home—"

A shadow fell across the alleyway, and the couple ignored their crying captive to look.

"Here's what's gonna happen," said the backlit figure in a low, grim voice. "You're gonna get the hell away from that kid. You're gonna come out here. We're all gonna take _a little trip_," the silhouette removed one hand from his pocket to jerk a thumb over his shoulder, "and I'm gonna turn both you freaks in."

"Hmm? Freaks?" The woman waved her hand dismissively, offering a pursed smile and eyes squinted like a weasel's. "Turn us in? What are you saying?" Her eyes opened just a bit, revealing a sinister gleam. "You wouldn't be a Detective, by any chance?"

"Detective? No." Yusuke's already narrowed eyes turned into slits. "I'm just the guy who's gonna kick your ass."

The woman's face twisted in a sneer. "You have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"Now Risako, don't do anything hasty!" the man warned, but the woman was already running with one hand outstretched. "Damn it…!"

"Don' like ih!" Masaru wailed. He screeched in protest when the man lifted him up under the armpits and stashed him inside the dumpster. "_Don' like ih! Don' like ih!_"

Yusuke raised his fist to punch the woman, but at the last moment she scurried away—literally. Yusuke stared as the woman, now on hands and knees like some kind of rodent, scampered to the side. She leapt at the wall, bounced off it, and pounced on top of Yusuke.

"What the—get off, you crazy—" Yusuke shoved her away, but she leapt right back on him like a rabid animal. He struck and shoved her away a few times, until finally one blow sent her to the ground headfirst and knocked her senseless. Yusuke was whipping around, turning his attention to his other target, when his eyes snapped wide. His face twitched and his mouth fell open. Looking up in shock, Yusuke saw the man staring down at him, his bony face twisted with loathing.

Then the sharp object buried in Yusuke's abdomen twisted. A gasp for breath and a cry of agony collided somewhere in his throat, and he tasted something salty and metallic. Clenching his teeth was all he could do to keep from screaming.

The man withdrew the sharp object, whatever it had been, and quickly kneeled down. Yusuke watched with wavering vision as the man used his bloodstained hand (where had the knife gone?) to pull the woman's arm over his shoulder. Then he ran.

Yusuke watched them go, concentrating all his effort on staying on his feet. Finally, the sound of someone else screaming came into focus. He staggered toward the dumpster, and still clutching his wound with one hand, lifted up the dumpster lid.

* * *

Five minutes later, Michiru was surrounded by other concerned parents. Tears were seeping from her eyes as she buried one hand in her bangs, all the while trying to describe her son to the police on the phone. One of the other parents tapped Michiru on the shoulder, and she turned to look in the direction he pointed out. Her breath caught in her throat.

A young man in a plain high school uniform was slowly trudging toward the playground, carrying Masaru in one arm and holding his other hand over his stomach. Michiru stared at the two of them, frozen in place, barely daring to believe it. The young man finally stopped, half-lowering and half-dropping Masaru to the ground, as if he'd realized at the very last moment that he didn't have the strength to hold him anymore. Masaru ran straight to Michiru, who kneeled down, sobbing as she wrapped him up in a tight hug.

As soon as Masaru was safely in her arms, Michiru looked up at the hero who had saved her child. She didn't know what to say. Fortunately, _he_ knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"Lady…" Yusuke's voice came out quiet and just a little scratchy. The blood he had been trying to hold in finally escaped, tiny flecks of ruby staining his pale lower lip. "I know you're not perfect…but try to keep a closer watch on your kid next time."

His eyes flickered as the world around him turned too bright, the colors muted. His breath left him in a soft groan. And then, as if in slow motion, he tipped forward. Michiru gasped.

"_Ma'am? Are you still there? Ma'am?_"

Michiru realized that the phone in her hand was still on and raised it to her ear.

"A-ambulance! We need an ambulance…!"

Sirens were blaring minutes later, but by the time the ambulance reached the park, there was nothing to be done. The body on the playground was still, the blood had already stopped flowing from the wound. A deep red halo stained the sand beneath his abdomen, marking the place where the fatal blow had been dealt.

"Jesus—get those kids out of here!" one of the medics yelled, swiping a hand at the parents and their children, who were either staring in incomprehension or starting to cry. The medics ran over, pressing two fingers to a cooling neck to check for a pulse. Hands overlapped, pumping against his chest while a bag valve mask was placed over his face. Michiru hugged Masaru close, tears streaming down her face as she kissed her son's head and rocked gently.

"It's okay, baby," she whispered. "It's okay, shh. It's okay."

On the ground, Yusuke blinked his eyes open just as the mask was removed from his face. He blinked, rolled over onto his stomach, and pushed himself up with his hands. Rising to his feet, he looked around warily. He was the only full-colored thing in the entire scene; everything else seemed washed out.

"Huh. That's different," Yusuke said slowly. "Why's everything so…gray?"

"Spirit awareness," said a female voice behind him. Yusuke turned around, yelped, and leapt backward, staring with wide eyes.

Forget the gray tones—this girl was the most colorful thing he had ever seen. Yusuke's eyes snapped from one place to another, not sure what to focus on. The ornate kimono, a pale pink furisode melting into burgundy at the bottom and painted with pink and white peonies; the gold obi sash with red trim; the cute face with its smiling lips and tiny button nose; the long hair, colored like blue cotton candy, pulled into a ponytail on top of her head; or the big, bright, sparkling purple eyes. Finally, Yusuke managed to take in the whole picture. The girl's hair and sleeves were floating upward, caught on waves of what looked like yellow sunlight emanating from her body.

"What…?" Yusuke asked, still staring. He meant to say _what the hell are you_, but the words were all scrambled up in his brain. That strange yellow light faded after a moment, and the girl's hair and sleeves drifted down to a normal gravity-complacent state.

"Spirit awareness," the girl repeated helpfully. "That's why everything looks gray to you. You're an entity of pure energy now; you have no physical eyes with which to see. So your perceptions of the world around you rely entirely on spirit energy and your ability to perceive it. Your senses aren't fine-tuned yet, so most things with low energy will look drab, but you should be able to distinguish things with high energy now." The girl's smile stretched and her eyes closed in a way that somehow reminded Yusuke of a cat. "Get it?"

"Get—what?"

The girl laughed, lifted right up off her feet and floated over to him.

"Not too bright, are you?" she teased.

Yusuke realized that he was looking directly into her eyes and skittered backward.

"Jeez! Lady, ever hear of personal space? You know, that five foot bubble around the human body?" he yelped. The girl giggled.

"But I _am_ five feet from your body! See?" She pointed somewhere behind Yusuke. He turned to look.

His heart leapt into his throat.

"_Wh—wh—what—_" The paramedics were lifting a stretcher into an ambulance, and the person they were carrying looked awfully familiar. A person with slick black hair and a (presumably blue but currently looking gray) school uniform, stained dark in the front. "_What the hell is going on here?!_" Yusuke bellowed, flying over to the body. Yep, it definitely had his face.

"I'll let you think it over," the girl said cheerfully. "Take all the time you need."

Yusuke thought for a moment, quickly flashing through everything he had done today. Biting into moldy bread. Making the kids at the front gate run for cover. Slouching at his desk. Keiko slapping him. The will to fight leaving his eyes as he watched Kuwabara drop to the ground. Finally he came to the important part: the alleyway, the kid, that creepy couple. The sharp pain in his stomach. The fall…

"I…got stabbed…" Yusuke came back to himself just as the doors to the ambulance slammed shut—coincidentally slamming right through him as if he wasn't even there. The ambulance sped off, and Yusuke stared after it, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

"But…if that was my body…then that must mean…" He pointed one finger at his own face and turned to look at the girl with disbelief. "Am I a…ghost…?"

"Bingo!"

Yusuke blinked as the girl nearly poked him in the nose, her index and thumb forming an L-shape like a gun. His eyes trailed up the girl's arm until he came to her face, where he was met with a smile.

"Congratulations! Yusuke Urameshi…" The girl winked cutely. "You are deceased!"

* * *

End part 1 of 4

A/N: Hooray! That was fun! I greatly enjoyed putting this chapter together, and I hope the rest of you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. :D

**SPECIAL PRIZE FOR READERS! OMAKE FOR COLORBLIND!** Explanation: Almost all the main characters (even humans like Genkai and Kuwabara) have special rainbow-y hair while all the characters in the background are brunettes. By sheer coincidence, the characters with colorful hair are also people who use energy on some level. Since there_ is_ precedent for hair changing colors based on energy levels (Karasu's "jet black to hyperglow blond"), I've decided that all the characters' hair colors change based on their energy levels and the ability of our POV character to perceive energy. If you've been reading "Colorblind" and have been wondering why it was called that, it's actually because I originally intended to explain all this in that story. The scene was supposed to run along these lines:

[Shortly after Kurama and Hiei show up at Maze Castle.]

Yusuke: "Why's everyone dyeing their hair lately?"

Kurama: "What do you mean?"

Yusuke: "You! Your hair is like, bright Hawaiian Punch freakin' red. Not that I don't like it, but whoa."

Kurama: "…You couldn't see it before?"

Yusuke: "Oh, yeah, cause your hair has always been that color." *Kurama raises an eyebrow* "…No way. Your hair was black last time I saw you."

Hiei: "Your spirit awareness was that low?"

Yusuke: "Hey!"

[Insert explanation for why Yusuke saw Kurama's hair as black when anyone with spirit awareness would have been able to see his hair was red. Yusuke, having trained with Genkai, is now able to perceive the energy that changes Kurama's hair red…and Kuwabara's hair orange, but Yusuke obviously wrote that off as a weird dye job until now.]

Yusuke: "Oh. So that's why…" *looking between Kuwabara and Kurama, eyeing their bright shiny hair colors*

Kuwabara: *warily* "…So this is what you talk about when you hang out with your friends, Urameshi?"

End Omake. XP


	2. Koenma, Prince of the Spirit World

No Sign of Life

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Thanks a lot for the reviews. I'm glad that you all seem to like the story so far. :) This is what should have been my traditional birthday update, but my birthday was a complete disaster. Suffice to say the only enjoyable part was the time I spent by myself washing the dishes and rocking out to "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. A week later I've finally managed to have a real birthday, so here's the update you should have gotten last week. Even with the extra time, I still didn't do a lot of editing or proofreading. Hopefully I didn't miss any serious mistakes here. -_-;

-The brooding!Koenma portrayed in this chapter seems pretty OOC if you're comparing him to Koenma's first appearance in the manga/anime. Compare him to Koenma's character in the Sensui Arc and you'll probably see more of a resemblance. This is a fairly drastic change, but Koenma's conflict with Sensui is much more central to Yu Yu Hakusho Saisei's plot and I felt that hinting at that conflict in Koenma's introductory scene was the most efficient use of screentime.

Now, without further ado, I present the second chapter. Enjoy, and please leave a review.

* * *

Koenma, Prince of the Spirit World

"What do you mean, deceased? You're saying I'm dead?" Yusuke demanded.

"Well, how else could you be a ghost?" the blue-haired girl shrugged. "Honestly, it's pretty easy to understand. Why do I need to explain it?"

"Because you—you—" Yusuke blinked, momentarily distracted when he realized he didn't even know the girl's name. "Hey, who are you, anyway? Are you a ghost, too?"

The girl laughed softly.

"Oh no. Allow me to introduce myself." She held one hand over her heart, which was as close as she would ever get to bowing to Yusuke (deities, after all, were under no obligation to bow to mortals). "I'm Botan, Ferrywoman of the River Sanzu. I guide the newly dead to their destinations in the afterlife. You could call me a Grim Reaper, but I don't think I'm all that grim, myself. Nice to meetcha!"

Yusuke blinked, his expression suddenly guarded. "Oh… So you're here to take me to Hell, then." For a moment the pair just stared at each other. Then, Yusuke bolted. "See ya!"

"Oh, come on now…! Why do they always have to run away?" Botan sighed in exasperation and stretched her hand out in front of her. Yellow light poured from her palm, stretching into a long pole, and soon the light faded and revealed a wooden oar. She mounted the oar sidesaddle and flew after her charge. "Hey, wait! I never said you were going to Hell, you know!"

"Sure, you _would_ say that to get me to come back! Then once I was close enough you'd snatch me! No thanks, I'm staying right here on Earth!" Yusuke looked left and right and finally turned to leap through a brick wall. He found himself inside a storage closet, and with a determined look he squeezed himself into the darkest corner alongside some mops and brooms.

"Yusuke, will you listen to me?" Yusuke heard Botan's voice calling him and shrank back even farther. "If you'd just come with me, you'd have a real chance to come back to life!"

Yusuke blinked, the tension in his body loosening with surprise.

"Come back…?"

"Yes!" Botan was floating outside the building, choosing not to enter in case it frightened him off again. "Yusuke… I can't explain why, because I don't really know myself. All I know is, something about your death didn't fall in line with your destiny. So I am supposed to take you to the Spirit World and get this straightened out. Those are my orders." Yusuke poked his head out through the brick wall, looking at her with an expression that clearly said _I'm listening_. Botan smiled reassuringly, hovering at the place where the dark alleyway met the pale main road. "The last time a situation like this came up, the person was brought back to life. So I think if you come with me, there's a good chance you'll be brought back too."

Yusuke's face darkened slightly.

"And why would I want that?" He stepped out of the brick wall, giving Botan a dubious look. "You're talking like coming back to life would be some great miracle, but have you seen my life? Seriously. Dying is the sweeter deal here."

Botan's forehead crinkled with distress. "You don't mean that."

"Come on! Okay, forget what's best for me—everyone around me will be better off now that I'm gone! My mom, my teachers, my classmates. My dying is the best thing that could have happened to them."

Throughout Yusuke's speech Botan had stared at him with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Even after he had finished she kept staring at him dumbly. Finally, she closed her mouth and tipped her head down, a small, pitying smile curving her lips.

"Yusuke… You really don't get it, do you." There was a soft rumble overhead as the gray skies glowed with soft light. Yellow energy flickered to life around Botan as her oar carried her upward several feet. "I think you should go to your wake tonight. Maybe that will put things in perspective for you."

Then she took off, zooming toward the stormclouds.

"What perspective?! Didn't you hear me? I'm better off dead! Heyyy!" Yusuke yelled after her. A lightning bolt arched down from the clouds, striking Botan, and in an instant she had disappeared. Yusuke blinked, wide-eyed for a moment, and then his expression cleared. "Fine, be that way."

* * *

By the time night fell, the gray clouds were unleashing a slow but steady stream of sleet. A small group of people had gathered at the Urameshi residence, dressed in shades of black and gray and carrying umbrellas to ward off the inhospitable weather. It was not a well-attended event by any means: the deceased was far from popular and the foul weather ruled out most casual observers. But there were a handful of people, anyway. Mostly they were neighbors who didn't like the Urameshis but who cared too much about political correctness to skip out on bringing some condolence money to the bereaved mother. Atsuko herself was sitting inside the apartment, slumped back against a wall, looking blearily at the wall across from her. She smelled heavily of alcohol and was still wearing the same crumpled-up clothes she'd woken up in.

Yusuke put his hands on his hips and frowned down at his mother. She looked drunk off her ass as always.

"Oh come on, Mom…! Couldn't you at least put on some clean clothes for my wake?" Yusuke grumbled. "Your kid's kicked the bucket and you don't even care. Jeez… I knew this was a waste of time."

Some low snickering came from somewhere behind Yusuke, and he turned around to look. Three boys in Sarayashiki uniforms were loitering just outside the door, peering in at the altar where Yusuke's photo had been placed.

"Not much of a turn-out," one of the boys said, smirking slightly. "Guess Urameshi really didn't have any friends."

"Doesn't surprise me one bit!" said his buddy.

"Well, thank God he's gone. We can rest easy now!" laughed the third boy, and the other two joined in.

Yusuke snarled angrily, his fists clenched. He wanted to beat the bastards to a pulp for badmouthing him like that, but there was nothing he could do without a physical body. And he'd thought he was powerless in life… _Damn it! _Yusuke bowed his head and ground his teeth. _**Damn**__ it…!_

"Stop that!" a familiar voice scolded. Yusuke raised his head to see Mrs. Yukimura, dressed in a black kimono and looking incredibly pissed off as she marched up to the three boys. "Don't you have any respect! One of your classmates has died and you're gossiping away! If you aren't here to honor the memory of that poor boy, why don't you show an ounce of decency and leave so the rest of us can mourn in peace!"

"S-sorry, ma'am," the boys said, hastily retreating. Mrs. Yukimura kept her firm expression as she watched them leave. Only when they were out of sight did she sigh and let go of her anger.

"Children these days… Honestly." She turned around to look at her husband and daughter. "It's all right now. They're gone."

Keiko stood beside her black-suited father, holding a clear plastic umbrella and looking very small and pale in the dark of the night. She had traded her cutesy pigtails for a demure braid, and under her clear raincoat she was dressed in a pale sheath dress and cropped jacket. Yusuke was seeing everything in tones of gray, but her dress was in fact blue. Keiko Yukimura did not own any gray or black clothes—_save those colors for when someone dies,_ she had said dismissively when her friends urged her to try on some of the classy neutrals. Now she stood at her best friend's wake, sticking out like a sore thumb amid the other darkly-dressed mourners.

"Keiko, honey. Go ahead and pay your respects now," Mr. Yukimura said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. She whimpered softly and shook her head.

"Keiko…" Mrs. Yukimura murmured. Keiko's face crumpled, and she quickly bowed her head in hopes of hiding her fast-breaking composure.

"No…" She let out a soft whine and gripped her umbrella like it was a lifeline. Her hands were shaking. "I can't… I can't do this…"

"Oh, Keiko…"

Keiko's breath hitched, and finally she sobbed.

"Mom!" Keiko threw herself forward, crying into her mother's chest while her father rubbed her back soothingly. "Oh Mom, how can he be dead? It's… It's so _wrong_…"

Yusuke stared at her, feeling as if a lead weight had been dropped inside of him.

_Keiko… Why is she so upset? I thought she'd be happy to have me out of her hair… _He thought this should be true, yet deep down he knew it was a load of crap. Keiko might be a stick in the mud who nagged and yelled at him more than anything, but she did care about him… Yusuke drifted over to her, reaching out with one insubstantial hand to stroke the top of her head. "Hey, Keiko, come on. I know it hurts now, but it'll be better if I'm not here, right? All I did was drag you down."

"_No,_" Keiko moaned, shaking her head and clinging to her mother even more. Yusuke took a step backward, uncertain and just a little bit spooked. She couldn't have heard what he'd said, could she? That was impossible…

Screams from somewhere down the road made Yusuke and several others look around. The three boys who had been gatecrashing before were now running up the street, one of them sporting a torn shirt and a bloody nose.

"Please, no more! We take it back! Just don't hurt us!" the leader was screaming, all while attempting to outdistance his two friends.

Yusuke watched them tear right past the wake. He stared at their retreating backs, somewhat stunned, before turning around to see who had chased them off.

"Kuwabara?" Yusuke blinked, even more surprised now. Kuwabara and his gang were standing there, watching with looks of disdain as the punks ran for their lives. Somehow, Kuwabara looked different from the rest of his posse. It was a moment before Yusuke realized that he was seeing tinges of washed-out color. He could just make out the peach of Kuwabara's skin, the orange of his hair, the warm brown of his eyes. _So… I guess it's not just ghosts that have this spirit energy stuff? Living people have it, too?_

Kuwabara raised his chin, and his posse all trooped toward the wake. Yusuke floated out of the way to let them pass, forgetting that he didn't need to move and moreover didn't respect Kuwabara enough to get out of his way. The group entered the Urameshi residence, Kuwabara surveying the scene as if to make sure there were no other unwelcome guests. Finally, he nodded at Kirishima to his left, Sawamura and Okubo to his right.

Then all four boys reached into their jacket pockets and pulled out envelopes wrapped with white-and-black ribbon. Yusuke stared. Condolence money? From _Kuwabara?_

"I didn't have a lot to spare," Okubo muttered, staring at the amount written on his envelope with embarrassment. "Only a thousand…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. Every little bit counts," Kuwabara reassured him. He walked up to the small table next to Atsuko, signing his name in the book and placing his envelope on the top of the stack. Yusuke ogled the number written on it. _Kuwabara… What's that idiot thinking? _By the time Yusuke came back to his senses, Kuwabara had already bowed to Atsuko, offered up some incense, and seated himself on the cushion in front of the altar while the rest of his gang sat behind him.

"So… I hear you died saving a little kid. Who woulda thought, huh? Big bad Yusuke Urameshi, dying like a hero. Bet no one saw that coming," Kuwabara began. A half-smile brightened his face somewhat as he studied the portrait in front of him. It wasn't the usual professionally-done photo—Yusuke was always scowling a bit in those. Yusuke vaguely recalled Keiko snapping this picture of him on their first day of high school, and she had managed to catch him with his guard down. There was no hint of attitude in the way Yusuke looked over his shoulder, eyes wide and lips slightly rounded (he had been in the middle of turning around and asking "What'd you say?"). Kuwabara chuckled slightly at the surprised look on Yusuke's face. Then he tipped his head down and clenched his hands where they rested on top of his folded legs. The shadows that fell over his eyes now didn't quite hide the tears that had begun to pour.

"Yeah, it was a pretty unexpected death… 'Cept, I saw it coming a mile away. You acted like you were so bad, but I knew you weren't. I could feel it. And I always thought, if I could just get through to you, you and me could do somethin' really amazing. Like world-changing kind of amazing. But I guess… I guess you just didn't see things the way I did…" Kuwabara clenched his fists even tighter and suddenly launched himself forward, grabbing onto the edge of the casket so he could scream down at Yusuke's motionless body. "YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO IT ALONE?! WE SHOULD'VE STUCK TOGETHER! THEN MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN YOUR DUMB ASS KILLED!" He slammed a fist down on top of the coffin lid, not caring how the other observers murmured disapprovingly. "WHAT GOOD ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO IF YOU'RE DEAD, HUH?! WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?! ANSWER ME!" Kuwabara let out a hoarse cry, slumping down against the casket.

"…What am I supposed to do now…?" Kuwabara despaired.

_Kuwabara…_ Lips that had been pressed in a tense line parted, and a trembling hand lifted slightly. Hesitated, then reached out to touch Kuwabara's shuddering shoulder. Someone else's hand fell on Kuwabara's shoulder at that exact moment, and the ghostly hand jerked back as if it had been caught doing something wrong.

"It's all right, son." Takenaka, who had been present since the beginning of the wake but silent up until now, squeezed Kuwabara's shoulder gently. "I know it's hard losing your best friend. But the world's not going to end without him."

"He _wasn't_ my best friend. I hated him," Kuwabara cried. "I hated him…!"

Kuwabara broke free of Takenaka's supportive hand and ran out the open front door, chased by his concerned friends. Cries of misery sounded into the night. Takenaka looked at the open door, eyes soft with sympathy, and then glanced toward the portrait on the altar.

"You may not have left behind many friends, Yusuke…but the ones you did leave behind truly loved you. I just…hope you knew that…"

Takenaka's eyes glistened, but he blinked the tears away before they could form. Clearing his throat into his fist and straightening his tie, he moved to excuse himself and retain some of his dignity. He briefly stepped aside to allow a young woman and her son to enter before walking out the door himself.

In front of the altar, Yusuke swallowed, dropping his eyes to the floor and rubbing his mouth with the back of his fist. He held his hand there and breathed through his fist. This wasn't anything like he'd expected… Yusuke's breath hitched and he pressed his mouth shut, crushing his fist more firmly against his lips in hopes of silencing himself. He had thought everyone would be relieved at his death… He'd thought they'd be _happy_…

Sniffing, eyes blurring and cheeks hot, Yusuke bit his thumb to ward off his involuntary whimpers (not that anyone would hear him anyway). He turned to see Michiru sinking to her knees in front of Atsuko. The young woman bowed so low that her forehead rested against the back of her hands where they'd been pressed to the floor.

"I am so…so very sorry, Ms Urameshi." Michiru's breath hitched as her eyes welled with tears. "It's all my fault. If only I had taken better care of my son, yours wouldn't have…"

She straightened up out of her bow just as Atsuko dove forward, wrapping her arms around the younger woman and sobbing into her shoulder. Michiru hugged Atsuko back, her own tears as quiet as Atsuko's were noisy.

By this point, there were no ghosts to be found in the Urameshi household. Just living, breathing, hurting people.

* * *

A single lamp shone like a beacon in the dark night, illuminating the steadily falling sleet and the park it stood within. Part of the playground was sectioned off with police tape and covered with a tarp to protect evidence that would be of no help to any normal investigator. The light both illuminated the castlelike playground equipment and cast thick shadows across it. At the top of the metal-and-plastic fortress, hidden in the deepest of the shadows, Yusuke sat curled into a tight ball. His legs were folded up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them and his head resting against his knees.

The light that shone from atop the lamppost flickered briefly, plunging the area into darkness for a moment. When the light came back on, Botan was standing under the post, soft eyes gazing directly at the spot where Yusuke was hidden. She turned her oar and flew up to the top of the playground.

"I hope you don't plan to fixate on this place," she said through the plastic wall. "It's really not very nice to haunt playgrounds."

Yusuke raised his head just slightly. A line of light shone from behind him, a faint ray allowed in by the narrow slot between the metal walkway and the plastic siding.

"You said that I'd probably be brought back to life if I came with you," he said quietly.

"Yes," Botan answered, still talking through the wall between them.

"But you can't guarantee it?"

"Nope. I can't guarantee that. It's just what I think will happen. But even if you aren't brought back to life, I _can_ guarantee that you won't go to Hell. Your final act has already assured that. So however it turns out, it'll be better than staying here."

Yusuke's mouth twitched up at the corners, a weak little smile. _In that case… _Botan blinked, and then she beamed as Yusuke pushed through the wall, out of the darkness and into the light. Botan's eyes glimmered as she reached for his outstretched hand.

The moment their hands clasped together, the world around them exploded with white light. A second later, the white light faded into pale lavender skies. Botan smiled, and Yusuke gave a half-smile in return as Botan began to pull him along. They flew forward, descending gradually along the way, until they were passing through red mountains. Soon, Yusuke noticed that they were following the path of a river that wound through the land below.

"Is that the River Sanzu?" Yusuke asked.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Botan replied. "We follow it all the way to the Gates of Judgment."

And they did just that. Over the hours they passed a valley of magma tucked between the mountains; a forest of trees as pale and blue as drowned corpses, where human-shaped creatures with leathery skin and batlike wings flew in flocks like birds; and at one point they even passed over a small settlement, which was in the process of being raided by a gang of ogres on horseback. Yusuke _oohed_ and _ahhed_ at each change of scenery, and Botan couldn't help smiling, enjoying his awed reactions. At last, they came to a wall rising up out of a red ridge of rock. The wall was made of blue stone and stretched on forever in every direction, seeming to split the world in half.

As they descended, they skimmed over a long and arduous set of stone steps that led to a plateau in the red rock. On the rocky platform was an ancient torii gate and an enormous set of doors in the wall. Beside the door was a list titled Gates of Judgment: Rules and Regulations. It took up three framed pieces of paper, each as tall as Yusuke. He had only enough time to read to the third rule ("Absolutely _**NO**_ Flying Beyond This Point") before Botan opened the doors.

The noise made Yusuke jump backward.

The doors had opened up to what looked like a shopping mall, crammed to bursting with shops and stalls and people. Yusuke used the term _people_ very loosely, since only about ten percent of the shoppers seemed to be human. There was skin in every color of the rainbow, horns and wings and tails and appendages Yusuke didn't even know how to describe.

"Come on, let's get to the elevator," Botan said furtively, grabbing Yusuke's hand again so they wouldn't get separated. Yusuke let his feet carry him along, all the while gawking at his surroundings. One vendor was offering good luck charms, but a woman with rabbit ears and a fluffy tail was arguing with the seller about a foot and most of the potential customers were edging away from the stall. Another vendor was claiming to sell signed autographs of Jesus, Abraham and Mohammad, but two of the customers complained that the Mohammad picture was too blurry to make out his face. A green-skinned man with a reptilian tail was advertising tickets for something called the Dark Martial Arts Tournament ("Demon versus demon fights to the death!"), while a little snow-white man inspected his purchase and called out that the tickets were from last year.

"Sorry, no refunds!" the lizard man leered as Botan pulled Yusuke in front of a lift and pushed the _up_ button repeatedly. Yusuke looked at the floor listing to the side of the elevator, wondering where they would be going. Floor one was the Marketplace, floor two was Cargo, floor three was Calculation and Accounting, floor four was Death…

The door opened, and Botan dragged Yusuke inside, beating the _close_ button into submission. She slumped forward with a relieved sigh.

"That place is always packed this time of year…" She straightened up, recovering, and pushed the button for the fifth floor (Games and Recreation). The elevator lurched upward. "Now then, Lord Koenma will be expecting us, so I'll run down some basic etiquette. First, don't speak unless you're spoken to. When you do speak, be polite. Address him as Lord Koenma, My Lord, My Prince, Master, Great Judge of the Dead…"

Yusuke listened with half an ear to her increasingly complex directions. Finally, the elevator stopped and opened up to a surprisingly empty lobby. The ceiling and floor were whitewashed stone and the walls were painted with a mural of a pale blue sky and stylized yellow clouds. Botan walked up to a set of red double doors, brushing off her kimono and fluffing her hair, then pulling out a compact mirror from inside her kimono sleeve and checking her face. After a quick bite of her lip and a pinch of each cheek to give them color, Botan snapped the compact shut and held up her fist with a determinedly sparkly look.

"Okay! I'm ready!" she said (evidently to the ceiling since that's where her starstruck eyes were aimed). She was about to reach for the doors when they burst open and two big, overly muscular ogres in business suits came running out. They tried to get in the elevator at the same time, got stuck, and fought for a frantic few seconds before managing to squeeze their way in and shut the doors.

"Uh-oh. That's never a good sign. Lord Koenma must be in a bad mood today," Botan murmured. "You'd better be extra polite to him. You remember everything I said, right?" Yusuke _ummed _stupidly, but Botan was already opening the doors. Yusuke shut his mouth and shoved his hands in his pockets.

The room behind the red doors was large and continued the lobby's motif of sky-patterned walls and white ceilings and floor. The ceiling was held up by wooden pillars painted with the same glossy red enamel as the door, while large urns overflowing with leafy green plants were tucked into the corners of the room. At the back was a window that took up most of the wall, the shades pulled all the way up to reveal a view of the world outside. There were arcade games pushed up to the wall on the right, vending machines against the wall to the left, and in the center of the room were about a dozen low black-painted tables with red cushions on either side. (A half-played game of chess was abandoned on one of the tables, no doubt left behind by the two ogres.)

At the back of the room, in front of the window, two people sat on either end of a large table topped with a scale model of a county. As Yusuke drew closer to the setup, he could see small white figurines dominating one side of the board and black on the other side.

"Oho, I think I have you now, My Lord!" exclaimed the player on the black side of the board. It was another ogre, this one with powder-blue skin and a single horn on his forehead surrounded by longish blond hair. Despite his monstrous appearance, the ogre was well-groomed and wore a dignified set of black Chinese scholar's robes under an overlong coat of leopard skin. The blue ogre pointed one finger across the board, and a black figurine with a single wing slid forward into the center of a miniature town. "The Black Angel claims this town."

A white piece, also graced with a single wing, immediately moved forward to meet the black one. But rather than taking the black piece off the board, the white piece cracked down the middle and then shattered to fine white dust. Yusuke felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't know why watching that little gamepiece crumble affected him that way, but something about the sight made him shiver.

"Forgive me, Lord, but your White Angel was a converted pawn. It might have the strength of a true Angel, but it can never match the experience," the ogre explained. "That was your strongest individual piece left, Lord. What will you do now?"

Yusuke looked toward the other player. Tall, slender, and indistinguishable from a human, Koenma wasn't quite what Yusuke had expected from the Judge of the Dead. He looked almost delicate, with the fragile good looks you might expect of a sheltered prince. His skin was fair and flawless and he had shiny, straight brown hair shorn at his nape. His clothes were a mix of East and West, a blue Chinese-style tunic and red cloak covering a crisp white oxford shirt and pressed beige trousers.

The prince's expression closed off as he gazed upon the single black piece that threatened his victory. Finally, slowly, he stretched his hand out towards the piece.

"L-Lord Koenma…!" The ogre flinched back and preemptively shielded his face with his forearm.

Then the board exploded.

"Ah—_ahh_—" The ogre cracked his eyes open, looking down at the table in front of him. Half of it was a black crater. "Your divine intervention was very…effective, sir…but look at the damage it caused." He motioned to the board with one hand, indicating the blackened area where embers were still smoldering away. "The entire town is destroyed, thousands of human lives lost."

"What is your point, Ogre? The objective was to neutralize the enemy as efficiently as possible." The young lord looked with emotionless eyes at the burnt remains of the town. "Had the enemy been allowed more time, it would have multiplied its forces and presented a threat of widespread calamity. Destroying this one town has eliminated the enemy early and thus preserved billions of lives at the cost of just a few thousand." The young lord narrowed his eyes slightly. "There's a bigger picture here."

"You don't think there could have been another way? A way in which no human lives would be lost?" the ogre stressed.

"You think the God of War can be appeased without human sacrifices?" Koenma asked. A hint of a merciless smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Do not succumb to foolish optimism, Ogre."

Botan shifted nervously, her sandals clattering slightly on the tiled floor, and Koenma stood. The ogre practically jumped from his seat, bowed to Koenma (who did not return the gesture), and quickly left the room.

"Botan," Koenma said quietly. He swept a hand over the dark blue "monarch" kanji on his forehead and through his silky hair. When he turned to Yusuke and Botan he had a small, weary smile on his face, sharply contrasting with the smirk he'd given the ogre. Koenma's eyes flicked over to Yusuke. "And this…yes…"

Yusuke stood up a little straighter, trying for a bit of respectability. Koenma's amber eyes bored into him, slowly and piercingly moving down the length of Yusuke's body and then going back up to his face to stare into his eyes. Yusuke was sorely tempted to make a smart-ass remark about Koenma seeing something he liked, but he was kind of afraid Koenma would obliterate him. …Okay, more than kind of afraid. Shut up! The guy was a _god_, Yusuke had every right to be intimidated.

Finally, Koenma blinked and let the intensity of his gaze lessen.

"Yusuke Urameshi," he said at last. "I expect Botan has already told you who I am, but for the sake of formality: I am Koenma, son of Enma and Prince of the Spirit World."

"Yeah, Botan told me. You're the Judge of the Dead," Yusuke said.

"That is one of my responsibilities, yes," Koenma said, sounding wholly unimpressed with his own status. "You are aware, then, that I am the one with the power to resurrect you."

"Yeah, I got it," Yusuke answered, a bit of his rebellious attitude coming back to him now. Koenma spoke with a civil enough tone, but Yusuke had seen his coldness a minute before and knew Koenma wasn't really that nice. With that seemingly casual remark he was already trying to set down the rules. _I have all the power here, so you do what I say._ It was the exact same thing Iwamoto had tried on the first day of school when he'd said that he was the one who ultimately put the grades in the book. "But I still ain't one hundred percent sure I want to be resurrected," Yusuke lied, hoping to take away a little bit of Koenma's power over him.

Koenma tipped his head. "I know what you mean. Mortal life must seem a little mundane now that you've been released from it. Like getting out of prison and then being told you have the wonderful opportunity to be put back in, wouldn't you say?"

"Uh… Sure, I guess…" Yusuke hadn't really thought about it that way. Did Koenma have a point? Would normal life be boring once he got back to it?

"You needn't worry about that, Yusuke," Koenma said, cutting off that line of thought before it could really begin. "I would not resurrect someone just so they could lead an _ordinary_ life. If you do return to life, it will be far different from the one you led before. I promise you now: in this second life you would have everything you desired. Power. Friends. Significance. Purpose." Koenma's eyes were blank. "I would grant you these gifts in addition to resurrection."

Yusuke blinked, his face going slightly slack with surprise and amazement.

"Wow… Gee, that's…generous…" And really, really suspicious. Yusuke glanced at Botan to see her reaction. She was staring at the floor in front of her and shuffling her feet. Yeah, she definitely did not have Koenma's pokerface. "So, what's the catch?"

"The catch…hm." Koenma turned away, walking toward the enormous window. "The catch is, I'm not sure you are deserving of these great gifts."

Yusuke started.

"What do you mean?" he asked, somewhat offended. "I got myself killed saving a stranger! I sacrificed myself for someone else!"

"I read your file, Yusuke. It is true that you died as a direct result of saving that child. But it was _not_ a true sacrifice." Koenma still wouldn't turn around to face Yusuke, choosing instead to stare out at his domain: an endless expanse of tiny islands and twisted pieces of black iron gate, all floating in the lavender skies as if there was no gravity to hold them down. Koenma's reflection overlaid that view, face eerily devoid of emotion. "You thought, when you first confronted those two, that you would be able to handle them easily. You underestimated the risk involved and didn't realize that your own life would be in danger. So your death is not an act of intentional sacrifice. It amounts to little more than an accident."

"Well, so what if I didn't mean to die? I still went to save that kid!" Yusuke pointed out. Koenma lowered his head slightly, shadows falling over his eyes.

"Yes, you did. But would you have been so brave if you'd known you were going to die?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Yusuke held his hands up in the air, shrugging. He answered without really thinking about it at all. "I don't exactly plan these things out ya know. I can't say what I'd do unless I were actually in that situation."

Koenma's lips curved slightly upward. He let out a tiny sound. Yusuke couldn't tell if it was a short, amused laugh or a derisive scoff; it seemed to be both at the same time.

"…An honest answer… Unfortunately, it's not the one I need." Koenma glanced over his shoulder at Yusuke, that subtle smile lingering on his lips. "It doesn't qualify you for resurrection, but it does qualify you to take the test."

Yusuke blinked. "What test?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Koenma turned around fully to face Yusuke. "We have reached an impasse. You have already proven that you have potential. And yet, I cannot allow you to be resurrected under the current circumstances, because you have not yet proven how you will _use_ your potential. So if you want to return to your body, you first must pass a little test." Koenma walked toward Yusuke, stopping just a few feet in front of him. "Very soon, a question will be posed to you. Give me the correct answer and I will immediately return you to your body. You have my word."

Yusuke blinked, a crinkle of confusion and worry appearing in his brow.

"Why can't you just ask me the question now?" he asked.

"That would be the most efficient approach. But then, there's always the chance that you would just give me the answer you thought I wanted to hear. In order to come up with the most accurate measurement possible, certain conditions must be met." Koenma looked pensive. "Unless I miss my guess, those conditions will be met within the week."

"And what happens if I give the wrong answer?"

"Then you die." Yusuke gaped with shock and dismay, but Koenma rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't act so upset. You've already died once, it's not the worst thing that could happen." Koenma brushed past Yusuke. "Now, if we are done here, I have to get back downstairs. Judging the dead isn't a job that allows for tons of free time, after all. Excuse me." Yusuke was standing there, twitching with annoyance at the curt dismissal, when Koenma paused. He stood there for a moment, hestitating.

"Yusuke… If you want, I could give you the…study guide, so to speak, for your test." Yusuke reluctantly turned around to look at Koenma, wanting help but at the same time not really wanting it from this person. "Ponder what moved you to save that child. Perhaps after you've thought about it, things will become clearer."

* * *

Even after returning to the living world, Yusuke was fuming.

"Damn it! What the hell was that supposed to mean?" he asked, holding his hands out as if hoping the answers would pop out of the air and land neatly in his palms. "Your boss is a total asshole!"

"Yusuke…! You can't talk about Lord Koenma that way!" Botan scolded. Yusuke smirked at her.

"Oh, gee, sorry about that. Is this better?" Yusuke pinched his cheeks, puckered his lips until he resembled a duck, batted his eyelashes and swept a hand back through his hair. He also made a show of unbuttoning the front of his school jacket to show off his nonexistent cleavage. "_Oh, Lord Koenma, you're so dreamy!_"

"Shut up! I do not sound like that!"

"Uh-huh." Yusuke tucked his arms behind his head and rolled his eyes skyward. "Whatever. You know, your boyfriend's not as clever as he thinks he is. I'm gonna pass this test, and I already know the first thing I'm gonna do when I come back to life."

"Really? What's that?" Botan asked curiously. Yusuke's eyes gleamed darkly.

"I'm gonna find the son of a bitch that killed me and return the favor."

* * *

_The resurrection is begun. I have revived and mended your body. It is only the spirit that needs to return…_

Atsuko lay on her side, her back against the wall and her unwashed hair falling over her face. Unexpected light made her scrunch her eyes shut and latch onto the blanket one of the guests had placed over her, pulling it over her head. After a few seconds she sat bolt upright, staring at the white glow coming from Yusuke's casket.

"Yusuke?" she rasped. She rose to her feet, staggered, and practically fell over onto the casket. Her bloodshot eyes snapped wide. _He's… He's…_

* * *

In a small room lit only by the desk lamp, Keiko sat curled up in her bed. Her arms were wrapped around the biggest and plushest stuffed animal she owned and her cheek rested on top of the bear's head. When she heard her cell phone buzzing away on the desk, she didn't immediately move. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She just wanted some time alone. But a few seconds after the buzzing stopped, it started up again. Keiko sighed with resignation and went to check the caller ID. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and accepted the call.

"Atsuko?" she sniffled.

"HE'S BREATHING! KEIKO, HE'S BREATHING!"

Keiko jerked the phone away from her ear, startled by the screaming. She stared at her phone in disbelief for a moment, wondering what in the world that had been about. Then she shakily brought it back to her ear.

"Wh-what are you…?"

"YUSUKE'S ALIVE! MY BOY IS _ALIVE!_"

The phone slipped out of Keiko's hand and clattered against the desk.

* * *

It took less than five minutes for Keiko to run to Yusuke's apartment. She practically burst through the door, only to stop in her tracks when she saw Atsuko standing over her son's casket. Was she drunk? Was she _insane?_ Yusuke wasn't alive. He couldn't be… Keiko ran forward, grabbing Atsuko's shoulder so she could pull her away, but she froze when she saw Yusuke's face. The grip of Keiko's hand weakened as she slumped forward, falling to her knees beside the casket.

"B-but…" Tears abruptly began to pour. "How…"

"I don't know. He was dead, and then…there was this beautiful white light…" Keiko leaned forward, tucking some hair behind her ear so she could move in close to Yusuke's face. "It's some kind of miracle, Keiko…"

The strands of Keiko's hair danced gently, caught by a tiny gust of wind passing from Yusuke's lips. An exhale. And then an inhale. Out, then in, then out again… Keiko closed her eyes, a wavering smile appearing on her face as she basked in the coolness of deep, steady breaths against her tearsoaked cheek. People often said that the dead looked like they were merely sleeping, but this—this was so unlike death it made Keiko's head spin.

"Yusuke…" She let out a faint breath. "I can't believe it. You really are…" She giggled softly, breathless with relief. "Oh, _Yusuke_…"

* * *

_End part 2 of No Sign of Life_

_A/N: And that concludes this chapter. We're at the halfway point of the pilot now, with Yusuke well on his way to resurrection. Hooray. :) The rest of this story significantly diverges from the anime, but you'll still see some of the original elements mixed in… With any luck, I'll be able to finish this story quickly. OMG, I'm almost done with the first season… What madness is this?_


	3. Hunting for a Devil

No Sign of Life

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective materials.

A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing last chapter! I've been extremely busy with a new component of the Saisei Project, and while I don't want to tell you exactly what it is until it's ready, I can say that it's something I've been planning for a while and that I've had at least two requests to do it. I'll be making the official announcement with the fourth and final chapter of No Sign of Life, but for those of you who just can't contain your curiosity, you'll be able to catch sneak peeks at the brand new **yyh-saisei . com** in the coming month. Look forward to it!

* * *

Hunting for a Devil

Wednesday began in much the same way Tuesday had. The sun inched its way across a cold city, birds chirped and students went to school. Yusuke Urameshi's death was nothing that would make the world stop turning. People died all the time, and Yusuke was no one special. Not yet, anyway.

A scrawny-looking squirrel skittered along the sidewalk, dodging around the feet of some schoolgirls on its way to its den. A hole in the foundation of a condemned house served as the animal's entry point, and the den was just a short trip up through the walls. The attic, dim but dry, was covered with a layer of dust and scattered with papers and acorn caps. A lamp sat on a crate in the center of the room and a small, battery-operated television was perched on top of a pile of newspapers. For a human these conditions would be intolerable, but for a pair of squirrels the attic was practically a palace.

The squirrel's tiny lump of a shadow appeared on the wall, cast there by the light of the lamp. It rubbed its tiny paws over its head, grooming itself. Then the shadow shifted, growing, stretching into the shape of a thin man.

"I'm home!" said Akashi, taking off his shoulder bag as he walked toward an old, stained futon tucked into the corner of the loft. He kneeled down beside the futon to peer at his mate.

"Risako, I'm home," Akashi said again, more pointedly. Risako's eyes showed no recognition, staring vacantly up at the dark rafters above her head. Akashi frowned briefly, but then his face brightened and he turned to open up the flap of his bag. He reached inside to remove the contents and place them on the floor for display. "This should cheer you up. I brought some food, look. Peanuts, and trail mix, and there's even a sweet potato, I know you like those…"

Akashi held this last item out toward his mate, hoping for some sort of acknowledgement. Risako just kept burning a hole in the ceiling with her eyes. Akashi poked her in the cheek with the hand holding the vegetable, but she didn't even blink. The optimistic look left Akashi's face, sliding down and away like runny paint.

"Risako… Say something? The one that hurt you is dead, you don't have to be like this anymore."

Still, she said nothing.

* * *

At the playground, Yusuke crouched down next to the black tarp that covered the bloodstained sand. He reached out to pull the protective covering away, but his hand passed through it. His mouth twitched down with brief annoyance, but a moment later he blinked. He placed both hands on the ground in front of him and shoved his face down through the tarp.

Botan floated down behind him, quirking an eyebrow. A casual observer might have thought she was amused by the sight of Yusuke on hands and knees with his head practically buried in the sand. Really, though, she was surprised that he'd thought to go through the tarp at all. The inability to make contact with solid objects was a reality every ghost faced, and for most it was incredibly frustrating. They'd spend days trying to move objects and would obsess over the loss of their ability to make contact with them. They would never realize the advantage of being able to pass through the physical world unhindered. But Yusuke had learned within minutes of dying that he could walk through walls and float in the air as he pleased. Rather than be stymied by his ghostly state, Yusuke instinctively used it to his advantage. Botan had to admit she was impressed.

After a few seconds of staring at the bloodstain, Yusuke withdrew his head from the tarp and went from kneeling to standing. He turned around, shoving his hands in his pockets as he paced away from the scene. Botan floated after him curiously, tailing him all the way to the alley where he'd been stabbed. Finally, Botan broke the silence.

"Yusuke, just what are you looking for?"

"Clues," Yusuke replied, rooting around with the upper half of his body buried inside the dumpster.

"Clues? Why? Don't you think the detective work is better left to the detectives?" Botan asked. Yusuke extracted himself from the dumpster and turned to Botan with eyes almost childishly round.

"Y'know, I hadn't thought of that."

* * *

It was a well-known fact that the supply of caffeine and junk food in a squad room was the most reliable indicator of how long the police had been at work. This morning, there was a pile of paper plates next to the coffeemaker smeared with marinara sauce and stale pizza crusts. That suggested an all-nighter at the very least. The chief's hand rested on the counter next to the pile, fingers drumming restlessly as he waited for his coffee mug to fill up.

"I don't believe this," the chief grumbled, eyes closed and temple throbbing. He didn't see Yusuke drifting sideways through the wall beside him, though the glowing blue digits on the coffeemaker's clock scrambled for a moment as Yusuke passed through it. "A boy dies in the middle of a public playground and we don't have a single witness to the actual crime?"

"No, sir. Plenty of people saw Urameshi die, but no one saw him get stabbed," one of the lieutenants answered, poring over a folder containing witness statements. "We do have a description of a couple taking Masaru Kidou from the playground. But it's not much—tall, thin, brunette. Generic."

"Damn…" The last drops of coffee dripped down. The chief was just dumping a small container of creamer into his cup when one of his team spoke up.

"Sir, I think you better take a look at this!" The chief quickly made his way through the cramped office, squeezing his bulky body around desks and stacks of file boxes that Yusuke floated right through. They reached an audio-visual setup, where the young man at the desk was dragging the play tab back to the beginning of a video clip.

"What's this?" the chief asked.

"Someone just sent it in. They were taping their kid at the park." The tech pressed play, and a slightly grainy video started up. The chief leaned forward, squinting. Ignoring the main focus of the video (a chubby five-year-old boy shoving a younger girl to the ground and stealing her ball), the tech pointed at a brown-haired kid in the background. "Look—there's the Kidou boy. Any second now we should be seeing who took him. Except…"

The video suddenly became much grainier, flickering, white lines streaking up and down the screen just as the suspects walked into range. What should have been a clear image was a mess of static.

"What? What happened?" the chief demanded.

"The person who sent us the video said there was something wrong with it…"

"Can't you clean it up?"

"Y-yessir!"

Yusuke watched for a few seconds as the tech frantically fiddled with the controls and the chief gave unhelpful suggestions. Finally, Yusuke scratched his temple with a whine of exasperation.

* * *

"Damn it," Yusuke muttered, stalking down the street with his face twisted in an almost comical grimace. "Those guys'll never figure it out…"

"Yusuke, don't worry about it. The person who killed you—"

"Monster." Botan hummed with surprise and confusion, and Yusuke sent her a wry look. "Look, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but something about those two seemed off from the start. And now that I've seen what's in the Spirit World, hell, I can put two and two together. Those things weren't human, were they?"

It was a crude deduction, but it made Botan smile so brightly that she radiated light.

"Got it in one!" she bubbled happily. "You're right. They were not human. They are classified as youkai—supernatural creatures originating from Makai." Now it was Yusuke's turn to be surprised. Makai? Did that mean there were worlds other than the human world and the Spirit World? Interesting. "You're also right about those detectives never being able to figure it out. Detectives of the human world almost never catch youkai. They have so little understanding of them, and most of the time they're too stubborn about their own definition of reality. That is why the task of policing the supernatural falls to the Spirit World."

"So, what? You're saying you've got Spirit _Detectives_?" Yusuke snickered. "Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, if you've got shopping malls and rec centers in the Spirit World, detectives aren't such a stretch."

Botan's smile widened at his joking remarks, but there was something off about it. Yusuke had the distinct impression that she was laughing _at _him rather than _with_ him.

"You'll learn all about it soon enough," Botan said mysteriously. "For now, you should focus on getting ready for your test."

"Oh, sure! _Ponder_ why you saved that child, Yusuke Urameshi!" Yusuke said with the affect of a fire-and-brimstone preacher. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Give me a break."

"Well, why _did_ you save him?" Botan challenged.

"I dunno! Why do I have to have a reason?"

"Because, Yusuke. Whether you understand your reason or not, you _did_ have one. We have a reason for everything we do." Botan held up one finger, the look on her face turning more serious. "Koenma is asking you to consider why you saved that boy because he wants you to become conscious of your motivations. It's a test of your principles."

"Bull." Yusuke looked away, effectively ending the discussion. Botan sighed with disappointment.

What she didn't see was how Yusuke's stubborn expression changed. Botan would have expected him to become less certain, doubting his answer the more he thought about it. But she would have been wrong. If anything, her prodding had strengthened his convictions. The question Botan had posed to him had a simple answer, even if she wouldn't accept it. Why had Yusuke saved that boy? He did not know. There had been no mental process, no "motivation." Yusuke had just…done it. Instantly, without thinking.

_There was no reason, _he told himself. His brow knitted, the corner of his mouth turned down in a frown. _ None._

* * *

Keiko just could not stop smiling.

She'd been smiling when she fell asleep and she'd been smiling when she woke. She had felt so happy this morning that she'd even taken some time to play with her hair, eventually settling on a side ponytail fastened with a large sunflower clip. She was still walking on air, so to speak, as she entered the school building. Her smile finally faded for a moment when she opened the door of her cubby and saw a note and a baggy of cookies tucked in beside her school shoes. Keiko took the note, instantly recognizing the pink stationery. She was barely halfway through skimming her friends' message when the messengers themselves made their presence known.

"Morning, Keiko," Akemi said, her blond-pigtailed head popping up over Keiko's shoulder. Despite the cutesy letter and the cookies meant to cheer Keiko up, Akemi's face was set in an expression of sympathy and concern. "We heard about Urameshi, it's so sad. How are you feeling? You're holding up all right?"

"You're so strong for coming to school today!" Natsuko joined in, poking her head around Keiko's other arm (she was too short to reach her shoulder). "I can't even imagine. It must be hard for you, losing your friend like that."

"But just so you know, we're here for you if you ever need to talk."

Keiko laughed nervously, sweat beading up on her forehead as she gave her friends a sheepish smile.

"Um… Well, about that…"

* * *

Kuwabara trudged past a group of girls in the front hall, his posture hunched and his unfocused eyes ringed by dark circles.

"What? What do you mean, he isn't dead?" squealed the girls he had just passed. Probably talking about a pet or a celebrity or something. Kuwabara continued on his miserable way, missing the rest of their conversation.

"I don't know how it happened, but Yusuke's alive," Keiko insisted to her incredulous friends. "He started breathing again last night after everyone went home…"

"Keiko, you must have been dreaming…"

"No, it's true!"

Kuwabara very nearly made it to his own locker, but a few steps away his left foot caught his right heel and he stumbled. Someone behind him ran forward and caught him on their own shoulder with an "easy, there!" Kuwabara blinked blearily, finally recognizing Kirishima's sandy brown hair. He glanced over the other boy's shoulder to see Sawamura and Okubo standing close at hand.

"You all right, Kuwabara?" Sawamura asked.

"You don't look so good. Maybe you should take the day off," Okubo suggested.

"Test's today…"

"Forget it! You've got a free pass this time, okay? Go home!" Kirishima pleaded.

"Nuh-uh. Rules say 50 points on every test." Kuwabara pulled away from Kirishima and squinted his blurry eyes, trying to make them focus properly. "What kind of example do I set if I slack off whenever I feel like it?"

"What kind of example do you set if you run yourself into the ground?" Sawamura folded his arms sternly. "Kuwabara, as your second in command, I move that you be relieved of duty until you've had a break."

"You _what?_" Kuwabara yelped.

"Second!" Kirishima and Okubo said quickly, raising their hands at the same time.

"Motion passes!" Kuwabara sputtered indignantly as Sawamura offered a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, man. Don't take it the wrong way. We're just looking out for you, that's all."

Kuwabara stared around at the three of them, looking for all the world like he'd just been stabbed in the back. They looked back at him, Sawamura and Kirishima looking firm while Okubo fidgeted, not certain if he should side with his leader or the majority. Kuwabara held back a growl, clenching his fists at his sides and scowling at the floor.

"Fine. I'm goin' home." He turned on his heel and walked toward the doors. "See you guys later."

Sawamura, Kirishima and Okubo watched their leader go. Even with his shoulders slumped, Kuwabara was one of the tallest people in the entrance hall. The other students made a path for him—not quite as wide as the one they used to make for Yusuke, but enough to put respectable distance between them. Kuwabara probably didn't even notice.

"You sure it's okay to let him go off alone?" Okubo finally voiced his doubts.

"He'll be fine," Sawamura assured him. "He just needs time to clear his head. Now come on—_we've_ still got to pass that test."

* * *

Kuwabara huffed as he threw himself down onto his side and tugged the comforter up over his shoulder. _Kicked out of my own gang. The nerve!_ he thought angrily. _This is all Urameshi's fault. Don't know how, but it is._

Turning over to face the wall, Kuwabara closed his eyes. _I hate that guy,_ he thought firmly. He lay there for a few minutes, attempting to dull his senses enough that he could fall asleep. Try as he might, he couldn't help picking up on the ticking of the clock behind him. Feeling the scratchy material of pajamas that had been washed with too little softener. Feeling the chill on his bare feet. Hearing the ringing in his ears… A high-pitched tone was going off, quiet at first, but slowly rising in volume until it was loud enough to make Kuwabara sweat with discomfort…

"_Kuwabara,"_ a voice whispered in his ear. Kuwabara's eyes snapped open, his breath sharp. He dragged his comforter over his head.

_Not real,_ he told himself, his whole body beginning to shudder and quake with unused adrenaline. He tracked the progress of a drop of sweat as it trickled down the side of his face, over his jaw and across his throat. _They're not real. It's all in your head…_

He stayed that way for nearly a minute, huddled under his blanket, his heart and his head throbbing. Then…

"_WAKE UP."_

Kuwabara shot upright.

"Darn it…!" He shoved his blankets away and leapt from the bed, immediately grabbing his school clothes from the hamper. Pajamas were tossed frantically away. "That's it! Why the heck am I trying to sleep anyway? I'm not tired!" Kuwabara declared as he fastened the belt on his school trousers.

Had anyone been watching Kuwabara from behind they might have thought he was really fired up. But a look at his face—eyes wide and cold sweat dripping from his chin—would prove that he was spooked. And perhaps with good reason. While Kuwabara's senses weren't sharp enough that he could see it, he had just enough awareness to feel it: a pale spirit silently removing its hand from his shoulder. The spirit of a delicate young man dressed in the finery of East and West, his smooth brown hair framing the symbol on his forehead and his eyes lost in shadow.

* * *

The week passed in something of a blur.

On Wednesday, Keiko visited Yusuke's apartment after school, put a cushion down on the floor next to Yusuke's futon and seated herself on top of it with an eager look on her face. Kuwabara spent the day at the batting cages, hoisting the heaviest bat he could find up over his shoulder and gripping it tightly. He smashed the bat into the first ball that came at him.

On Thursday, Keiko went to Yusuke's apartment again. This time when she opened the door and peeked inside she saw a man with a leather bag talking to Atsuko. Keiko blinked, her smile falling away when she heard what they were discussing. "He's been comatose for two days now, and there's no telling when he'll wake up. It's about time we consider options. Feeding tubes, intravenous fluid replenishment, catheterization…" "Can't we wait a little while? Yusuke slept for three days straight after his school entrance exams, he was fine…" At the batting cages, Kuwabara hit ball after ball, filling the air with sharp cracks.

On Friday, Yusuke was still obsessing over his own case. The authorities had already gathered every bit of evidence they could from the scene, so cleanup had been called in. It had taken a while to remove the bloodstained sand, but it had been done. Today Yusuke watched as fresh sand was poured in, erasing all evidence that a crime had taken place there. As if he'd never died at all… Yusuke's lower lip jutted out in a frustrated frown, but Botan watched him with growing fondness.

On Saturday, two doors opened at the same time. Keiko, dressed casually for once, daintily took off her boots and placed them next to the door of Yusuke's apartment. At the same time, Kuwabara kicked his own shoes off and left them where they dropped. Keiko bowed politely to Atsuko when she saw her getting ready to leave for 'work' (whatever it was she did for a living); Kuwabara trudged past his own father in a sleep-deprived stupor. Keiko sank to her knees beside Yusuke's futon, smoothing her hands over her warm magenta dress. Kuwabara fell face-first onto his own Western-style bed and passed out without so much as loosening his school jacket.

A calico kitten jumped onto Kuwabara's back, curled up, and began to purr as it rose and fell with his heavy, steady breaths. After a few seconds of staring at Yusuke, Keiko's eyes softened and she let out a slow sigh.

"Yusuke… You will wake up, won't you?" she asked. The green digits on the alarm clock flickered and scrambled, but Keiko didn't notice. As close as she was to Yusuke, she just didn't have the psychic awareness to see his ghost. "You're breathing now. You're alive. You're not going to spend the rest of your life asleep, are you?"

She stared at Yusuke's face, at his features, exquisitely peaceful in their deep slumber. She tipped forward suddenly, unaware of how that simple motion made the nearby ghost go wide-eyed. Unaware that as she lay her head and hand on his chest and closed her eyes, concentrating on his steady heartbeat, the spirit that should have been inside that body began to blush.

"You have to wake up," Keiko whispered. "I haven't had a chance to say sorry yet…" Her eyes clenched shut tighter. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, that time. I know you were just being…well, _you_…and you're stupid and immature and it doesn't _matter_. I'm sorry." She opened her eyes, tears making them glimmer brightly. "Do you hear me? I said I'm sorry!" Keiko sobbed and closed her eyes again, turning her head so her face was buried in Yusuke's chest. "Please, just wake up… You can't get my hopes up like this and then never wake up, it's… It's horrible…"

Yusuke's eyes softened with sympathy. He crouched down beside and slightly behind her and lay an invisible hand on top of her hair. He knew she wouldn't be able to feel it, and for the first time in several days he was truly frustrated with his noncorporeal state. But Keiko turned her head as if to welcome the touch, and his hand slipped to her damp cheek. Thumb moving as if to wipe away the tears. Keiko's breath stuttered, her brows twitching together briefly, then smoothing out.

"Yusuke…" she said softly. Faint pink patches appeared on her cheeks and a tiny smile spread across her lips. "You _are_ here, aren't you…"

"Of course I am," Yusuke said, slightly eager. It was almost like she could sense his presence. Was it true? Could she feel him? Could she _hear_ him? "I'm not going anywhere. You hear me?"

Keiko shifted slightly, rubbing her cheek against Yusuke's chest. Almost a nod.

"Come back soon, okay?" she asked.

Fondness swelled up inside Yusuke's chest. It could just be a coincidence, but it really did seem like she was responding to him. After a moment of grinning at Keiko, pleased with her ability to sense him, Yusuke blinked with surprise. If she could feel his presence, why was she being so…touchy-feely? The Keiko he knew would never cuddle up to him like this.

Or would she? Yusuke paused for a moment, thinking back on all the times he had tried to get close to her. She slapped him when he flipped her skirt or tried to cop a feel, she shoved him away when he tried to tickle her ear. Okay, maybe he deserved that. But when they shared her umbrella in the summer and he stood a little closer than necessary, Keiko never pushed him away. When they ate together at her parents' shop, she warmly offered him an extra slice of meat from her own plate. On their first day of high school, Keiko had smiled as she helped him with the top two buttons of his school jacket.

Looking at her now, at how easily her body curled up beside his, Yusuke let out a soft scoff. He bowed his head, a resigned smile passing over his face. She was a pain in the ass sometimes. But then, he was a pain in her ass almost all the time, so they were kind of a good fit, weren't they?

Closing his eyes and feeling a pleasant warmth in his cheeks, Yusuke leaned forward to wrap his arms around Keiko. He really, really hoped that she could feel every bit of his affection through the embrace.

"Sure…"

* * *

In the lamplit attic halfway across town, Akashi sat beside the futon with his head bowed. Gripping Risako's cold, limp hand. He kept trying to look at her, but he couldn't bring himself to see her face; the highest he could get was her neck.

"Risako…" Akashi gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his tears. There was still no response from his mate. There never would be, now… He took a shaky breath and brought her hand to his face, kissing it. She would never talk to him again.

A click of a dial sounded in the quiet room.

"—_another twist in the thrilling tale of the boy one woman calls 'the hero of Sarayashiki.' On Tuesday 16-year-old Yusuke Urameshi reunited a lost little boy with his mother, only to die of blood loss shortly afterward there on the playground. He was pronounced dead on the scene and a wake was held in his honor, but it turns out young Yusuke wasn't dead at all—only unconscious!_"

Akashi blinked, turning his head toward the television.

"_Currently on life support at his home, Yusuke remains comatose. Until he wakes, we will pray for this young hero's return…_"

Wide eyes stared at the news report, reflecting the glow of the television screen.

"Risako… Is that you?" Akashi whispered into the seemingly empty room. There was no answer, but he was convinced that the presence he felt was that of his mate. His eyes gained a determined gleam. "Is that what you want? You want me to kill that boy?"

From its place next to the television, a spirit was watching over Akashi. But instead of having a thin female face and two long front teeth, the spirit was good-looking and delicately masculine, with pale lips curved in a grim frown. The person watching over the youkai was not his beloved mate. Akashi couldn't tell the difference, though.

"All right, then…" The youkai rose to his feet slowly, eyes dark with purpose. "I'll do this for you."

* * *

Keiko left Yusuke's apartment a while later. Her face was still a little flushed and a small smile curled sweetly across her lips. Yusuke watched from high above, arms tucked casually behind his head.

"So, how did it go in there?" Botan asked cheerfully, floating down behind Yusuke. "Anything fun happen?"

"Nah," Yusuke said vaguely.

"Really? Keiko looks kind of hot and bothered," Botan teased.

Yusuke turned to Botan with an embarrassed growl, but before he could argue his eyes flicked back to the ground. Had he seen something down there? Yusuke shifted, peering at the apartment intently. A squirrel was scurrying around on the ground and making circles of the house. Yusuke quirked an eyebrow, following the progress of the gray-brown animal as it finally climbed a tree in the front yard and hopped up through the branches. It then sprung to the kitchen window, where the top pane had been left open to let some fresh air in.

"Crafty little thing," Yusuke commented as the squirrel jumped in through the window. He flew down to the window, and Botan followed him, now looking interested in whatever he was watching. The little rodent perched on the kitchen counter for a moment, seemingly looking around, and finally hopped to the floor.

And then it changed.

"_Holy—_" Yusuke's face twisted with shock, images flashing through his head. Pain, blood, and a face looking down at him with loathing. The face of the man who now stood inside his apartment. "That's him! That's the bastard that killed me! How the hell did he get here?"

Botan shrugged, and Yusuke was so distracted that he accepted her answer without really thinking. Had he looked at her for a moment longer, he might have caught the expression of guilt on her face.

"What's he doing…?" Yusuke wondered aloud, his fists and teeth clenched. Akashi looked around, checking the rooms until he came to the one where Yusuke lay sleeping. The youkai's eyes glinted.

"There you are." Yusuke's face contorted with disgust as the youkai walked straight to his prone body, crouched down next to it. Gripped his hair and tugged his head this way and that. "I thought I killed you that time, but obviously you're not as weak as you look." Akashi let go of Yusuke's hair and let his head flop back down against the pillow. "You won't be so lucky this time, Urameshi. I'll make sure you die."

He opened up his clenched fist, and his fingernails suddenly became five-inch talons. Yusuke let out a cry of denial as Akashi reached toward him, intent on slitting his throat. But then the youkai blinked and a small frown appeared on his face.

"…No," he said quietly, his claws retracting. "This way is too quick. I don't want you just to _die_. I want you to _suffer_." He glanced around, his eyes lighting on a nearby table. Atsuko had left her usual offerings there: a stack of unopened mail, a bottle of booze, an ashtray, a pack of cigarettes, and a lighter. Akashi's eyes gleamed. "I'd really like you to go through hell for a few days before dying, the way Risako did… But this will have to do."

Akashi grabbed the bottle, opened it with a faint _pop_ and turned it upside down, splashing and pouring its contents all over the room. Yusuke ground his teeth with frustration as the carpet and furniture all became soaked with alcohol. Then his eyes widened with shock at the soft _shick_ of the lighter.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" A faint crackle, a wisp of smoke drifting through the air. Akashi turned a letter slowly on its side, letting the new flames eat up the paper. The youkai watched the flames for a few seconds, then looked back at Yusuke's body with a grin.

"So. For the second time now…" Akashi leaned down, touching the burning letter to the alcohol-soaked floor. Flames immediately began to swell up, and Akashi took a quick step back to avoid being burned. He smirked, pleased with this improvised murder plot, and turned back to the kitchen.

"You—son of a bitch!" Yusuke yelled as Akashi transformed back into a squirrel and escaped through the window. Yusuke turned back to look at his motionless body. "Damn it, the whole house is gonna burn! This is bad…! And there's nothing I can do without a body…" Yusuke's eyes snapped wide. "My body— What's gonna happen to me if my body burns up?" He turned to Botan frantically. "Botan, _what's gonna happen if my body burns up?!_"

"I-I'm sorry, Yusuke," she said nervously. "We had no way of knowing this would happen…"

"Shit!" Yusuke flew to his body and attempted to slap it in the face. His hand just went through it like it did everything else. "Wake up, damn it! You're gonna die! Damn it! DAMN IT!"

The fire continued to burn, higher and higher, engulfing the house in smoke and flame.

* * *

End part 3 of 4

-And so ends another chapter. It's shorter than the first two, but in general I'm satisfied with it… Yusuke's already showing some supernatural powers, and Kuwabara's got his spirit awareness going (although at this point he doesn't actually know he's psychic—poor guy thinks he's just going crazy!). I've been trying to gradually introduce the idea of Spirit Detectives in this story, hopefully I've provided enough setup for that. The only thing I'm not really pleased with is the fire at the end. It feels random… I guess it was just as random in the manga/anime too, though. At least in this story there was some sort of motivation behind the attack, no? …I did enjoy writing Koenma as the one who pulled all the strings here. I've made him so manipulative! I kind of love it, hehe. He's not evil, I swear!

Please leave a review and tell me what you think! :D


	4. Your Answer Is…?

No Sign of Life

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here is the fourth and final part of this story. Thanks a lot to everyone who has read and reviewed. If you have enjoyed _No Sign of Life_, you may also like the rest of the Saisei Project as well. Next up is _That Which Comes Between Two Mountains_, which covers the case where Yusuke meets Hiei and Kurama. It's the story that got me started on the idea of a full series rewrite and remains one of my best-reviewed works, so I highly recommend it.

* * *

Your Answer Is…?!

"What can we do?" Yusuke asked, still crouched over his own soulless body. The flames that had started on the floor were now beginning to climb up the walls. "My body's gonna be toast unless we figure something out fast!"

"As you are now, there's nothing you can do!" Botan answered.

"Damn it!" Yusuke went back to punching his sleeping body in the face, trying to wake the corporeal part of him, though he already knew it was useless. It just wasn't possible for the body to act without a soul. Botan watched him for a few minutes, waiting for the right moment to speak.

"Yusuke—a body…"

"I'm trying, it's not working!" Yusuke snarled.

"No…" Botan firmed her expression. "Yusuke, you need a body, but it doesn't have to be yours."

He blinked and turned to her with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke said slowly, hardly daring to believe it. Was there really a way to save himself?

"Listen. Sometimes ghosts can possess living people—take over their bodies. You could do that," Botan explained. She didn't look very happy about the possibility, though. But why not? She had just found a way to save his life! What was not to like about that?

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Yusuke asked.

"Well, there are certain requirements for possession. First, you have to know the person." Botan flashed back to a few days ago, when she had attended Yusuke's wake without his being any the wiser. She had seen Kuwabara there, taken note of his high energy level and marked his name down in her book. "Second, they have to be unusually aware of the supernatural." Koenma himself had prepared Kuwabara for possession by strengthening his spiritual receptivity. Twisted the boy's psyche, haunting him and keeping him awake for days on end… "It also helps if they're already dormant in their body…that is to say, they're asleep." Finally, on the right day, Koenma had shown mercy and let Kuwabara rest. But even now, as Kuwabara lay asleep in his bed for the first time in nearly a week, it was all part of a plan. Botan's eyes softened with remorse. She felt bad, but Koenma had asked her to carry out this mission. She would not fail.

"Do you know anyone like that?" Botan finally asked, knowing that Yusuke would come to the right conclusion.

"Let's see… Someone I know with high spirit awareness…" Yusuke mused. Botan watched gloomily as Yusuke thought. It was hard to look at him knowing the part she had played in this ruse… She closed her eyes just as Yusuke slapped a fist into his hand. "Kuwabara! When I saw him he had high spirit energy! Is that the same?"

"Not quite, but if he has high energy then there's a good chance he has high spirit awareness too."

"All right! Let's go find him!" Yusuke turned around excitedly, ready to go out and track his friend down.

"So then, you'll possess Kuwabara? Remember Yusuke, even if you can possess him, there's no guarantee it will help. This _is_ a fire." Yusuke paused and glanced uncertainly back at Botan. She opened her eyes again to give him a grave look. "Even if you decide to do this, you might not be able to save your body. Furthermore, you'll be putting Kuwabara in danger."

"You mean—" But of course. Why hadn't that occurred to him? They were talking about running into a burning building. Of course he would be risking Kuwabara's life. "But… But I can't do that. I mean, Kuwabara's a loser, but I don't _hate_ him."

"Are you sure? Take a moment to think about it. You have until your body burns to decide."

Yusuke growled faintly, turning away from Botan to watch the flames. What would he do?

* * *

Pancake batter hissed and sizzled as the taiyaki vendor closed his griddle, baking the fish-shaped snack inside. The scent of pancake and sausage drifted across the shopping center and made Keiko's stomach grumble. Hot food on a cold day sounded good, especially since she had skipped out on her usual after-school snack to visit Yusuke…

"Come on! There's a fire on Fourth Avenue!" Keiko blinked, her lips shaping a question as she turned her head to look toward the shouting. When the two men ran behind her she turned her head the other way, following them with her eyes.

"The fire department's already out, they won't be able to help," Keiko heard the second man say. Now Keiko turned fully, watching attentively as they hurried down the street.

_Yusuke lives on Fourth Avenue_… Keiko thought, oblivious to the vendor who was now holding out her taiyaki. Keiko took a slow step in the direction the guys had gone ("Miss, your order…?"). She slowly began to run ("Where are you going?"), then broke into a mad dash ("Wait, Miss…!").

At Yusuke's apartment, the neighbors had finally noticed the fire and gone to check it out. One industrious man was ferrying buckets of water from the spout outside his own house, but for the most part the crowd was just observing. Some of them were too afraid of the fire to act and simply looked on in awe, while others were making syrupy comments like "oh, that's too bad!" and "such a shame!" without showing any desire to help.

Keiko pushed her way to the front of the crowd, going stock still when she saw what they were all staring at.

"No…" Her voice rose to a high-pitched scream. "No! _NO!_"

Two of the neighbors saw Keiko running and grabbed her arms, holding her back.

"You can't go in there! It's too dangerous!"

"YUSUKE! YUSUKE!" Keiko screamed, not even registering that they had spoken to her. She tore free of their restraining hands and dashed forward. Frantic motions for her to stop fell on blind eyes, shouted warnings fell on deaf ears. Keiko pulled her hands inside her sleeves, using them as a cover so she could turn the doorknob without scalding herself on the hot metal.

* * *

_Uh-oh,_ Botan thought, her eyes going wide when she spotted Keiko entering the apartment. _This wasn't supposed to happen! She's not part of the test!_

"Um, Yusuke? We have another problem," Botan spoke up uneasily. Yusuke turned his head to look at her, then saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced in the direction of the door. And suddenly his angry expression changed, shifting into something impossibly weak and vulnerable.

"K…Keiko…" He had meant to yell it, to scream at the top of his lungs, but the muscles in his throat had locked up. "What is she doing here…?"

"YUSUKE!" Keiko shouted over the roar of the fire. She ran through the kitchen toward Yusuke's room, the heat making her bare lower legs shine with sweat.

A section of a beam that had been reduced to blackened cinders broke off. Yusuke saw it dropping straight toward Keiko and gasped, fear like ice flooding through his spirit. Keiko, who didn't have the advantage of a bird's eye view, didn't see the falling debris until it landed on her. Pain exploded in her left shoulder as she stumbled sideways, screaming, briefly gripping her wound before frantically brushing off the hot cinders. Every strand of hair that had been touched by those burning bits of wood glowed orange for a moment, then dimmed to gray ash. Growling faintly, Keiko looked at the door to Yusuke's room with determination and firelight shining in her eyes.

As Keiko resumed her mad run through the inferno, Yusuke's voice finally returned.

"Keiko, go back!" he yelled, soaring after her. "Just leave me! _Please…!_"

Keiko, of course, heard none of his pleas. She ran all the way to Yusuke's room, quickly dropping down beside his futon and disengaging the IV and catheter. Yusuke watched her with mounting desperation. Why couldn't she hear him now, when it was most important?

"Okay—" Keiko coughed and scrubbed the back of her fist against her eyes, which were starting to water from all the smoke. "Come on," Keiko said, more to encourage herself than to reassure Yusuke. She gripped his wrist and pulled his arm over her shoulder. His weight would have been difficult for her to bear under normal circumstances, but with her shoulder wounded he was nearly impossible to lift. Still, Keiko spoke with absolute resolve as she promised, "I'll get you out of here."

She turned just in time to see flames blocking off the entrance. The blaze danced in her teary eyes, taunting her. The crackling and snapping of the flames were like voices that cackled, _Try to get out now._ Swallowing, Keiko closed her eyes and started the long trek to the door.

"There's…" Yusuke stared, his pupils retracted into pinpricks as Keiko walked toward the fiery doorway. "There's no way…"

"She's trapped, Yusuke. She's going to die," Botan said grimly, and Yusuke wanted to scream at her. Was she stupid or something? Why was she reminding him of how hopeless the situation was? It was like she was saying unhelpful things on purpose. "You can still try Kuwabara, but there's almost zero chance that you'd make it in time. By this point you'd probably just be sacrificing both of them."

"Botan… I… I can't…" Yusuke looked at his spiritual guide hopelessly. "Please, there's got to be _something_ else we can do here."

"Kuwabara is your only option." Botan looked at Yusuke with surprisingly cool eyes. "So, is that your answer? You will not sacrifice someone else's life for your own? Not even to save Keiko?"

"What kind of sick question is that?!" Yusuke yelled, slashing his arm through the air in frustration. "If I had a life left to give, I would! I'd sacrifice myself in a heartbeat if it was _my_ life we were talking about! But we're _not_ talking about my life! No matter what, a life that isn't mine isn't one I can sacrifice! I _can't_ make that choice!"

"Then you'll watch Keiko burn alive."

Yusuke bit his lip. Keiko had already taken her first step into the fire. The flames were biting at her legs, turning the skin red and making it wrinkle up like the surface of simmering water. She was screaming…

"…This is so screwed up," Yusuke whispered. Keiko swallowed back her screams as she took a second step, tears streaming down her sooty face. "It's _my_ fault Keiko ran in there… It should be up to me, _I_ should be the one risking my life to save her. I'd give anything to—" Yusuke ran a hand up his face, sinking fingers into his hair and digging into his scalp with his fingernails. "But I _can't_ make Kuwabara give his life when it's got nothing to do with him in the first place. I _can not_ do it." Yusuke clenched his eyes shut. "Why the hell does it have to be like this?! Why can't I do anything to help?!"

Botan watched, her eyes wide with shock, as Yusuke opened his eyes and stared hopelessly down at Keiko. She was struggling to keep moving, unaware that the hem of her skirt had caught fire.

"Keiko… I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do…" Keiko managed one more step, though her feet staggered and she crashed into a wall. The impact rattled the wall, making a bookshelf pitch over in front of her. Her path was completely blocked now. "But look at you, risking your life to save me. Such a freakin' do-gooder… You'd hate me forever if I got Kuwabara killed trying to save you. You've always been selfless like that." Yusuke bowed his head, shadows falling over his eyes. His mouth was curved in a self-disgusted little smile even as tears shone on his cheeks. "I know, if you were the one making the call, you wouldn't even think twice… So I won't either."

Focused as he was on Keiko, Yusuke completely missed the smile that had crept across Botan's lips.

"Yusuke…"

He blinked dully, barely able to muster any surprise for the warm tone of Botan's voice. Yusuke had only turned halfway toward her when he found himself being tackled. Suddenly Botan's hands were gripping the front of his jacket and her lips were pressed against his mouth. Pale yellow aura was flaring all around her, and Yusuke convulsed as it flowed into him. It was like feeling the warmth of sunshine on his lips, but hotter, more intense, and it was pouring into his mouth and down through him, as if he was actually drinking Botan's light. Soon that warmth transformed into something else, a sharp electric current that started in his belly and traveled all the way up to his brain. In the blacks of Yusuke's widened eyes, yellow light that had been shining from within him changed to a pale electric blue.

When Yusuke's eyes returned to black, Botan broke away from him with an ecstatic smile.

"Good luck," she beamed.

"Wha—"

But then a hand gripped the back of his shirt collar, tugging him backward and hurling him toward the floor. The boy's spirit collided with his body, disappeared inside it.

For a moment everything in the room came to a standstill. Koenma, who had appeared behind Yusuke while he was distracted, lowered the hand he had used to throw the boy and straightened up. Botan listed sideways through the air, eager eyes fixed on the scene below as the fire slowly began to move again. Keiko's blistered legs shook, and her eyes fluttered shut as her strength finally gave.

Before she could fall, legs that had trailed along the ground found their footing. The arm around her shoulder moved, sliding down her back and around her waist.

And Yusuke opened his eyes.

"Whoa, it's—hot—" He glanced around, staring in shock at the fully colored world. Had he not been in a state of mental disarray, he might have wondered why his legs weren't burning up the way Keiko's had. "What—am I…?"

He glanced down and saw the person curled up against him definitely was not Botan.

"Keiko!" Yusuke pulled her fully against him, one arm securely around her waist and the other hand going up to cup the back of her head. He could feel the frayed ends of her hair where the strands had been burned. Seeing the flames all around them, Yusuke held Keiko tight and clenched his eyes shut. He'd returned to life just in time for him to suffer and die along with her? What a stupid way for things to turn out. But maybe he deserved it. He'd made the choice to leave her here, after all. He hadn't even tried to save her…

Yusuke was unaware of the pale blue energy that had surged to life around him. It started at his feet and swirled around him, rising and falling and rising still more. Yusuke didn't notice it until he heard the whoosh of the fire and opened his eyes. That's when he saw it: every flame within five feet had been extinguished.

"Is this…my spirit energy?" Yusuke wondered. The energy whirled around him, tendrils of power coming tightly together, fusing themselves into a spherical barrier. Then it burst outward in a flash of blue-white that obscured the two humans, then the flames, and finally the two deities who were watching from above. Outside, the neighbors shrieked and ran away from the brilliant light, thinking that the fire must have set off some kind of gas explosion.

* * *

A quarter of an hour later, sirens blared on Fourth Avenue. When the firefighters finally arrived on the scene, the house was as good as gone. Blackened beams, cinders, and a single wall were all that remained of the Urameshi residence.

"Looks like we got here too late," one of the firemen said heavily, tipping his hat down in mourning. "Well, we better get started."

"Yeah…"

The firefighters fanned out, climbing through the charred wreckage that had once been a home. They indiscriminately walked over personal items, kicking aside a blackened board that might have been part of a table, some twisted thing that looked to have been a microwave. One of the firemen shoved aside a bookcase that had tipped over in the hallway. He gaped at what he found behind it.

"S-sir! You better come see this!"

An older firefighter moved forward, looking around the last standing wall. Behind his moustache, a smile appeared.

"Well I'll be…"

"Have you ever seen anything like it, sir?" the younger fireman asked eagerly.

"No. I sure haven't," the older one said. "We better call in for an ambulance…"

"Yessir!"

The younger fireman hurried away from the bedroom. They knew it was a bedroom because it was still identifiable as such: a five-foot circle near the entryway was somehow completely untouched. And in the center of the circle were a boy and a girl, curled up together on the floor, unconscious and blissfully unaware of the devastation that had taken place around them.

* * *

"Hey, Eri. Did you hear about the angel?"

"Hmm?"

"The angel! They say that this boy in Sarayashiki died, and then he came back to life as an angel to save his girlfriend from a burning house!" A girl with dark brown hair leaned back in her seat at an outdoor café, pressing one hand to her heart as she closed her eyes. Kasumi's cheeks took on a pretty pink blush as she gave a dreamy sigh. "Ahh… It's so romantic. I love those kinds of stories."

"But it's just a story, right?" The white-blond girl across from Kasumi pouted around the end of her fork, her slice of carrot cake forgotten on the plate in front of her. "People coming back from the dead—that's a little scary, isn't it?"

"I think it's nice to think there are angels watching over us," Kasumi said, raising her chin.

"I guess I can agree with that," Eri smiled.

On the sidewalk outside the café, a boy with slick black hair tried to hide his smirk as he overheard their conversation. His hands were buried in the pockets of his green jacket, and a small bouquet of sunflowers was tucked safely under his arm.

"Angel?" he snickered. "Never been called _that_ before."

* * *

_**Yusuke Urameshi, age 16. Personality is impulsive and ill-mannered with a violent temper. He has little respect for authority and is a horrible student. **_

In a hospital bed, a girl wearing a blue-spotted gown sat delicately on her side and stared out the window. She lay a self-conscious hand on the white bandages that covered her calves. The doctor said there would be scars… But then, he also said she was lucky to have survived at all. Maybe she should count her blessings…

"Hey Keiko." She blinked and twisted her body toward the door.

"Umm, what are those?" Keiko asked, gaping at the bouquet.

"What, I can't bring you flowers now? Sheesh. Guy tries to be nice and this is what he has to show for it… It was my mom's idea anyway…" Yusuke sat down on the edge of the bed and set the sunflowers down next to him, sulking. Keiko smiled faintly, a light red color appearing on her cheeks as she shyly brushed her hair behind her ear. It was shorter than it had been, the burnt ends trimmed down to a short fall that didn't quite reach her shoulders. Yusuke, watching out of the corner of his eye, saw Keiko fussing and attempted to reassure her. "Your hair's fine. Really, it doesn't look bad. Better than the pigtails, anyway. I hated those things."

"Yusuke," Keiko sighed with mild exasperation. She couldn't quite hide her smile, though. Yusuke grinned back at her, and Keiko's smile faded slightly as she turned more contemplative. "Yusuke…? I'm really glad you're here."

Yusuke blinked curiously, and his eyes went wide with surprise as Keiko leaned in to grasp the front of his jacket and lay a kiss on his cheek. There was no palpable flood of energy between them, no bright light or noticeable heat. But Yusuke did feel a little spark inside his heart.

* * *

_**However, due to a certain chain of events and according to my will, this boy has become something more than he was…**_

"Kuwabara! You're late!" One of the animal shelter's volunteers, an elderly man who was currently nursing a baby tanuki using a bottle of milk, watched as the boy walked in. There was a large bag of dog food slung over one of Kuwabara's strong shoulders. "That's not like you."

"Sorry. I've been having kind of a rough week. 'M still trying to get my head back in the game," Kuwabara mumbled as he set the bag down beside the door. He looked like a wreck, his complexion pale and his eyes darkly circled. But he was actually better than he'd been in days. "Is Hachi-kun feeling better today? Oof!" A large golden Akita chose that moment to jump on top of Kuwabara, heavy paws pinning the boy down as a rough tongue licked his face with frantic adoration. "Guess that answers that question… Hey, Hachi, off! Off!"

_**He's become stronger, physically, spiritually…**_

On the sidewalk outside the shelter, Yusuke smiled at the loud, joyful barking.

"Sounds like he's doing fine," Yusuke said, his eyes scrunched shut happily. "What a relief." He turned to leave, but something in his subconscious told him to open his eyes. He looked around and noticed a squirrel perched atop a low wall nearby. As soon as it saw him looking, the little animal scurried away. The nervous look on its face was as plain to Yusuke as if it had been sweaty and bug-eyed. That was a little weird… Yusuke narrowed his eyes sharply, following the squirrel's progress along the edge of the wall.

* * *

Koenma plucked one of the white game pieces from his elaborate chessboard. He closed his hand around the piece, hiding it in his palm. A faint light shone from inside his hand. When he opened it again, the small human-shaped figure had transformed into a piece with a single wing.

…_**And very soon, he will be my most important piece.**_ Koenma placed his newly-made angel back on the board, in the midst of a town that seemed to be made up of nothing but black figures. A squirrel-faced piece was the nearest, hidden in between two buildings.

* * *

In a dark alley, a tall, thin man ran for his life. He gasped when a shadow shifted in front of him.

"Hey, Asshole. Where do you think you're going?"

Akashi squeaked and scrambled in the opposite direction, tripping over trash cans along the way. Yusuke watched him with narrowed eyes, a sliver of pale blue gleaming across his dusky brown irises.

"Doesn't matter which way you run." Yusuke raised a hand, reaching out toward the fleeing youkai. "You're still headed for Hell."

Blue light poured out into the street outside the alley. Then the light faded, and the world returned to peaceful dark.

* * *

Koenma looked down at the White Angel, which now stood atop a pile of black dust where the squirrel-faced man used to be. His eyes gleamed.

_**I hope you're ready.**_

* * *

_End part 4 of 4 of No Sign of Life_

_So? What did you think? This is obviously just the prologue to Yusuke becoming a Spirit Detective, but I hope it worked for everyone. The two chapters where Yusuke is actually given his job as Spirit Detective will be part of That Which Comes Between Two Mountains, but I don't want to upload them to this site and rearrange a three-year-old story to accommodate new material. If you'd like to read the chapters "Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective" and "Devourer of Souls," they will be uploaded to **yyh-saisei dot com / betweentwomountains** over the next few months. One more thing to look forward to, ne?_

_-**Anyone interested in a mental exercise?** Okay. Yusuke, in order to save the life of the woman he loved most, was willing to sacrifice his own life but unwilling to sacrifice the life of his best friend. Compare to Kurama in That Which Comes Between Two Mountains, but replace Keiko with Shiori and Kuwabara with Hiei. Kurama is faced with the exact same choice. Who do you think made the right call, Yusuke or Kurama?_

_**Please leave a review! These stories take up a great deal of my free time, and any encouragement is greatly appreciated. :)**_


	5. Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective

That Which Comes Between Two Mountains

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Well, I decided to write up the chapters where Yusuke becomes a Spirit Detective and goes on his first case to recover the Great Dark Treasures. They're supposed to be part of _That Which Comes Between Two Mountains_, but there was no way to add them to that story without messing up the review system or having them out of order. So I'm uploading them to the end of _No Sign of Life_ instead. Please note that you will have to go find the original story if you want to read anything past these two chapters. So… Now for your entertainment, here is the (new) first chapter of _That Which Comes Between Two Mountains_.

**Warning: This story contains one nonexplicit male/male pairing, Kurama+Hiei.** There is absolutely nothing physical going on between them yet, so you are free to ignore the romantic intent and pretend it's a "really close friendship" if you so choose. Just please be aware that relationships tend to progress to new levels the longer you stick with them, and it will be harder to ignore such developments in the future.

* * *

Prologue

On the fourth floor of the Gates of Judgment, a security camera went to static.

"Huh. That's strange…" In the surveillance room, an ogre dressed in the uniform of a security guard flicked a switch back and forth. The picture on the screen remained a swirl of snow. Humming thoughtfully, he poked a finger under the brim of his hat to scratch at his temple. Nothing like this had ever happened on his watch before. Nothing like this had ever happened to any ogre, period. The Spirit World just did not have technical difficulties. Frowning, he reached down to the radio strapped to his shoulder. "Uh…hello? Anyone near Section 13? I think there's a problem with the camera…"

Then he lost the feed from Section 14. The ogre's finger slipped off the radio's talk button with surprise, and his eyes instantly went to the view of Section 15. He saw a black flicker before that camera went dead, too.

"H-Hello?" the ogre tried the radio again, more than a little nervous now. "We've got cameras going down in Sections 14, 15, and—" The picture for Section 16 went the way of the first three, but this time the ogre definitely caught a glimpse of a person before the camera died. Suddenly remembering that the surveillance office was in Section 17, he squeaked with panic. "All units to Section 17! I think we're under atta…_ahhh…!"_

The ogre collapsed forward onto his console, knocked unconscious by a neatly-placed chop to the back of his neck. His attacker, a petite young man wearing a black coat and a white scarf, smiled at his handiwork. It wasn't a bad smile, either—a little arrogant, but for the most part just purely satisfied with a job well done.

* * *

In Section 13, a second ogre dropped to the floor with a thud. The man who had attacked the ogre was well over six feet tall and positively bulging with muscles. His strong physique was displayed through a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt that clung to him like a second skin. Sadly, despite his impressive body, he had plain bristly hair and his face had an ugly, blocky look about it. He looked, in short, like a brainless thug.

The tall man grinned and reached one enormous hand down, saliva gathering at the corners of his mouth. His impromptu snack was interrupted when another guard ran up with a spear and struck him squarely in the back. The weapon snapped like a twig.

"W-what _are_ you?!" the guard gasped. That was all he had time to say before the steel-skinned man sent an elbow crashing under his chin.

From behind a pillar, someone quietly listened to the one-sided battle. Lost as this person was in the shadows of the hallway, it was impossible to distinguish hair or clothing color. But the eyes were another story: even in the darkness, they reflected enough light to show their vibrant green shade. There wasn't an emerald in the three worlds that could match the brilliance of those eyes. Then again, he _was_ Youko Kurama. It was only natural that Makai's greatest thief was himself a treasure without equal.

A black flicker signaled the arrival of the youkai from the security office, who immediately tucked himself behind the pillar alongside Kurama.

"Cameras are out," the shorter youkai announced. He shifted, moving even closer to his partner so he could crane his head around the pillar. "How are we doing here?"

"He's just about done," Kurama said calmly.

"Good."

The smaller youkai watched eagerly, keen on proceeding to the next phase of their plan. Kurama, meanwhile, briefly glanced away from the scuffle to look at something a little more interesting.

"Hiei… What do you plan to do with the sword, when you get it?" Kurama asked, not quite as casual now.

"I haven't thought about it," Hiei said simply. "In any case, I'm looking forward to my real prize."

Hiei sent a quick glance at Kurama, his lips tipped with a smile and his eyes shining like rubies. In truth, Hiei was every bit as rare and brilliant as Kurama. He just wasn't as famous yet. That was the only real indicator of Hiei's age; his talents were such that his fame should rival Kurama's, and the fact that he was still relatively unknown meant that he hadn't been around for very long. Kurama didn't like to think about how young Hiei might actually be, but sometimes it was hard to ignore. Looking at him now, caught up as he was in the thrill of a challenge and the promise of a long-sought reward, Hiei looked no different from any other bright-eyed adolescent. Kurama bit his lip, doubts that he had tried to put to rest now working their way back up to the surface.

Barely five minutes later, after the guards had been dispatched and the various youkai-repelling seals removed, the vault door swung open. Kurama straightened up from his position kneeling on the floor and tucked a small twig back behind his ear.

"So, this is the great treasure vault of the Spirit World? Hate to say it, but I'm not too impressed," Gouki said, trailing behind Kurama while Hiei briskly led the way inside.

"It doesn't matter as long as we get—ah, there they are." They had reached a well-lit altar draped in lavender and black silk. Hiei stood back to admire the treasures on display. The sword stood on its own stand in the center, the mirror to the right and the orb to the left. These treasures were what Hiei had been working toward for the past several months. With this theft he had finally proven himself, proven his worth. He wanted to savor the moment.

Gouki, who was not so nostalgic as Hiei, wasted no time in approaching the altar and picking up the glowing green orb. As he stared down at the Gakidama his smirk stretched, his grinning mouth beginning to water hungrily. A moment later Kurama moved forward and quietly collected the mirror from its cushion. He gazed down at the Ankokukyo, at his own image reflected in the gleaming black surface. His reflection narrowed its eyes cruelly. _Coward. Traitor. Filth. You don't deserve to live…_

Hiei stared at the third weapon with his hands buried in his pockets.

"Kouma-no-Ken, the Sword of Demonic Subjugation… Fancy title for such a plain-looking sword," Hiei commented. Still, unimpressed as he was by the weapon, it was the act of stealing it that really mattered. With that in mind, he reached for the sword.

Kurama turned sharply, panicked, overwhelmed. It was too much.

"Hiei, hold on—"

But Hiei had already laid a hand on the hilt. His slight grunt of surprise made Kurama's breath catch in his throat. The younger youkai's body had gone rigid, as if some curse had turned him to stone. After a moment his fingers twitched, a little reflexive spasm. Then, slowly, they closed around the sword hilt.

Kurama stared at his partner worriedly.

"Hiei? Are you all right…?"

Hiei didn't turn around. Shadows had fallen over his once-bright eyes. His lips, previously smirking with simple pride and excitement, were now invaded by a slow, creeping smile.

"Of course I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, seemingly casual. But there was something wrong with it, just as there had been something wrong with Kurama's seemingly casual questions earlier. Kurama looked at the floor.

"No reason," he said softly. He held the Ankokukyo close to his heart. This… This was what it had all been for. This mirror of darkness, an object no bigger than his hand. It was everything he had been working toward. It was all that was left for him, now. "Well… We've gotten what we came for. We should go now."

By the time the alarm sounded, the three thieves were gone. A low, wailing drone pounded through the empty halls as red warning lights flashed on and off.

Then the flashing stopped. The low wail turned into a high-pitched beeping. A world away, a hand reached out to turn off the shiny new alarm clock on the bedside table.

"Hwahhhh…!" Yusuke Urameshi yawned as he sat up, stretching his arms above his head. "Mph… That's the last time I watch _Last Crusade_ before bed."

* * *

Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective

Yusuke opened the fridge and leaned forward, eyes moving left and right along the shelves. Three cracked eggs, a few chopped veggies and some diced ham later, Yusuke was shuffling a frying pan around on the burner. He seated himself at the table with his breakfast and wasted no time digging in, chewing and swallowing an enormous bite of omelet, gobbling up some rice and washing it all down with a swig of orange juice. He clinked the glass down with a happy sigh.

"Man, fresh food! This is great!" Yusuke beamed.

He opened his eyes and looked around at the new and improved Urameshi residence. The apartment was on the tenth floor of a relatively new tower block. It was twice as big as their old place, with two bedrooms instead of just one. A plethora of fancy fixtures lit the apartment at night, and huge airy windows let in great swathes of sunshine during the day (Atsuko had insisted that Yusuke take the bedroom on that side because she hated waking up with the sun on her face). It came fully furnished, stove and fridge both in like-new condition. Decent neighborhood, too. _And_ it was dirt-cheap. To be honest, it seemed a little too good to be true.

_This really__** is**__ great,_ Yusuke thought, slightly uncertain now. _How'd we get such a nice place?_

By the time he was out on the streets and making his way to school, Yusuke decided that it didn't matter. _Oh well. Maybe our luck's just finally turning around. I'm not gonna complain._ He paused when he saw someone waiting for him further up the road. _Besides…_

"Morning, Yusuke!" Keiko waved back at him, a smile on her face. "Come on, you don't want to be late on your first day back."

Yusuke fell into step beside her, and the pair walked along the sidewalk for a while. He sent Keiko a sidelong glance, taking note of the knee socks she was wearing in place of her usual ankle socks. Probably to cover up the burns she'd gotten while trying to rescue Yusuke from that fire… Yusuke remembered how Keiko had struggled to carry him through the flames and felt a rush of gratitude and guilt. Even if he had ended up saving her life in the end, that still didn't change the fact that she had run in to save him… He turned his eyes back to the path ahead and tried to act casual.

"How are you doing? You look all right," Yusuke said.

"I'm fine." Now Keiko was the one glancing at Yusuke out of the corner of her eye. "What about you?"

"Come on. Why wouldn't I be okay? I've only been stabbed, put in a coma, and nearly burned to death," Yusuke joked.

"And you're still not dead after all that. Someone up there must really want you to live," Keiko commented lightly. Yusuke chuckled to himself. _You have __**no**__ idea…_

As they walked into the school courtyard, Yusuke could pick up on the frightened whispers breaking out from every direction. This wasn't unusual, but the words used were a little different from what he normally heard. "_It's him! Yusuke Urameshi!_" "_So he really isn't dead!_" "_That or he's a zombie!_" "_As if he wasn't scary enough?_"

Yusuke smirked and shrugged, taking the remarks in stride.

"Well, thanks for rolling out the welcome wagon. Glad you're all so happy to see me alive…" Just inside the school gates, a bookbag dropped to the ground. "Seriously though, why don't you just find something else to stare at? There's nothing to see here. I mean, it's not like I've turned into one of the walking dead." Yusuke's face took on a ghoulish grimace as an imaginary backdrop of blackness and ghost lights appeared behind him. "But you know…ever since I came back, the only thing running through my head has been…_brains_." He took a few sluggish steps toward the blue-faced students and slowly reached out his hand. "_Braaaainsss!_"

Everyone shrieked and ran toward the front doors as Yusuke burst out laughing. "Oh man, did you see their faces?"

"Yusuke! Can't you behave?" Keiko scolded.

"Aw come on, what's the point of being alive if I can't have a little fun?" Yusuke cheerfully replied. He heard a strangled sound from behind him, and Yusuke blinked, glancing back to see who it was. Sawamura, Kirishima and Okubo stood near the front gates, their faces all pale with shock. But none could compare to the sheet-white shade of their leader. "Um… Hey, Kuwabara…" Kuwabara just kept staring at Yusuke with eyes almost devoid of pupils. Yusuke offered a slightly awkward smile. "It's, uh, good to see you guys. Don't worry, I'm not really after anyone's brains. I was just messing with 'em."

For Kuwabara, the world around him seemed to be slowly tilting sideways. _That's… That's not… How is he…_

"Kuwabara? You all right, there, man?" Yusuke asked hesitantly.

The bigger delinquent took a step toward him. Then another. Then he started running.

"Oh no, you are _not_ gonna hug me!" Yusuke said firmly. A moment later, Kuwabara's fist smashed against the side of his head and Yusuke was seeing stars (along with planets and alien spaceships, all sketched with crayon). "YOW! Jeez—what the hell's the matter with you?!"

Kuwabara stared at the throbbing bump on Yusuke's head, his eyes quickly opening and closing. "You…" Blink, blink. "…really are…" Blink. "…here."

"YEAH, I'M _HERE_ WITH A FRIGGING LUMP ON MY HEAD THE SIZE OF YOUR _FIST_! THAT'S SOME WAY TO TREAT YOUR FRIENDS!" Yusuke bellowed. A second later he was lifted off his feet. "Wh— Hey, I said no hugging! It's embarrassing! Come on, let go of me ya big dope! _Urgghh!_" Yusuke flailed his arms for a moment before scrabbling his hands over Kuwabara's back, trying to disengage. He was oblivious to the way the other boy's shoulders shook with laughter. Sawamura, Kirishima and Okubo all grinned at the scene, glad to see their leader so happy again. Keiko, meanwhile, just held a hand close to her heart and smiled softly. To think, Yusuke claimed he had no friends…

Kuwabara finally let Yusuke go, backed up a bit and thumbed his nose.

"So, you came back from the dead, huh? Good. I get another shot at taking you down!" Kuwabara grinned and held up a fist. "Get ready to meet your maker, Urameshi!"

Yusuke smirked and sank back into a fighting stance, but then he felt something blowing against him like a soft wind…except that the blocked-off courtyard was never windy. He blinked, looking right and left.

"Huh. Speak of the devil…"

At the entrance of a small, dark walkway between the main school building and the gym, Koenma stood as still as a statue. He was observing the humans, face grim and hands buried in his pockets. When he saw that Yusuke had noticed him, the Prince of the Spirit World held up a hand and motioned with one finger for Yusuke to follow. Yusuke frowned slightly as he watched Koenma disappear down the walkway.

Kuwabara blinked, caught off-guard as Yusuke straightened up, shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait! Where do you think you're going?!" Kuwabara squawked.

"I just have some business to take care of," Yusuke said with a lazy wave. "Don't worry, kicking your ass is still at the top of my to-do list."

Kuwabara bared his teeth. "Sheesh, that punk! Thinks he can ignore me…!"

The school bell chose that moment to ring. Kuwabara and his gang all yelped, hurrying to get to class, but Keiko waited a moment longer, watching as Yusuke vanished between the two buildings. _Yusuke…? _she wondered, her brows knitted with confusion.

* * *

Yusuke had imagined any number of locales for his next meeting with the Judge of the Dead. Admittedly, a dark, dreary place devoid of life _had_ been the first that sprang to mind, but Yusuke had been thinking of Hell when he'd come up with that mental image. Who would have guessed the storage room behind the athletics building would fit the bill too? …Wait, a place devoted to the torture of helpless souls? Nevermind, Yusuke could see the resemblance now.

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on passing your test. I hope you've enjoyed the first days of your new life." Koenma leaned forward in his plastic-and-metal desk chair, his expression softening a bit. "I trust your new home is to your liking. I arranged for it myself."

Yusuke quirked an eyebrow from his position sitting on top of a crate.

"Wait. You're telling me you're the one who got us that cushy pad?" Yusuke asked, incredulous.

"Of course. I went to the trouble of resurrecting you. You didn't think I would just leave you out on the street, did you?" Koenma asked, sounding a bit amused. He crossed his legs, propping his elbows on the metal arms of the chair and steepling his hands. "You needn't worry about things like that anymore. Shelter, food, money… I will take care of all your earthly necessities from now on."

"But… Why?" Yusuke asked, even more confused now.

"Naturally, it's because I want you to focus on more important things. I told you that your life would be different if I resurrected you. And starting today, it will be." Koenma's eyes sharpened a bit. "Yusuke Urameshi, I am hereby appointing you Spirit Detective of Earth."

Yusuke's eyes went wide with unmasked surprise. Koenma had spoken as if this was a big, dramatic revelation. Too bad it was totally lost on Yusuke.

"Spirit…Detective?" He blinked curiously. "And what's that?"

"A Spirit Detective keeps the peace between youkai and humans and brings any breakers of Spirit World law to justice. It's like what human police officers do, except with more fangs and claws. Consider this a way of earning your keep." Koenma closed his eyes and bowed his head in apology. "I meant to give you a few days to enjoy your life, and then get started on your training. Unfortunately, a rather urgent case has come up, so I have to commission you earlier than planned. And yes, the appointment _is _mandatory."

"What kind of case?"

Koenma blinked his eyes open and raised a quizzical brow. "No complaints about being drafted into my service?"

Yusuke shrugged. "What do I have to complain about? You brought me back to life _and_ you're taking care of all the things normal people have to worry about. Earning my keep's the least I can do." Yusuke leaned forward, eyes shining with purpose. "So…you gonna tell me about that case now?"

For some reason, that made Koenma smile.

"All right, Yusuke," he said. "Let's get down to it." The demigod turned and raised his hand, splaying out his fingers. A black swirling vortex appeared in the air in front of his hand, drifting back until it was up against the wall. An image appeared in the void of a sword, a mirror and a glowing green orb. "Last night, some criminals stole three treasures from the Spirit World's vault and escaped into the living world. They took out our security cameras, but we managed to extract some images from the memories of a guard they attacked."

As Koenma spoke, the stillshot of the stolen treasures switched to a black-and-white video. At first the viewer was running toward a huge, blocky-faced man, aiming a spear at the man's back. The speartip broke, and the man lunged upward, cracking an elbow under the viewer's chin and plunging the video into blackness. A second later the image came back, shot from the floor now. It faded in and out of focus, but the blurry gray image definitely showed three people walking into the vault.

"We don't know who the other two are yet," Koenma said, pausing the video, "but the big one there is Gouki. He is a kyukonki with a long list of prior convictions…murder, mostly, and desecration of souls. Find him and you'll probably find the other two." Koenma held up his hand, displaying a watch—no, scratch that. It was actually a compass on a watchband. "Luckily for us, now that we've identified Gouki, the Youkai Compass should be able to take you straight to him."

Yusuke accepted the compass with a dubious look.

"Okay…and what do I do when I find them? That Goku guy—" (_"Gouki."_) "—knocked your guards out cold, and we know diddly squat about the other two. How do you expect me to bring them in?"

"Using your spirit energy, of course." Yusuke glanced up at Koenma. "I'm sure you've noticed. You've already tapped into your spirit energy a few times: when your house was burning, and when you tracked down the creature that killed you. You have quite a natural talent for it." Koenma held up one finger. "But here's a pointer, so to speak. You've been releasing your power in large bursts, expending it all at once and then fainting afterward." He turned his hand over, repositioning his fingers so his pointer and thumb formed an L-shape like a gun. "Try to focus it instead. Channel it narrowly, through just one finger, and you might still be able to stand when you're done."

Yusuke blinked, looking down at his own hand and mimicking the L-shape. A few crackles of blue light began to travel up his finger, forming a tiny crackling sphere at the tip.

"It's called the Spirit Gun—a very basic technique for controlling spirit energy," Koenma explained. "It's several times stronger than a normal punch, but with your current energy level you'll only be able to use it once a day. I suggest you save today's shot."

"One shot for three monsters. Yeah, I like those odds." Yusuke rose to his feet with a cocky smirk. "Oh well… At least I get to skip second period gym."

Koenma let out a slight huff that might have been a laugh.

"I'm assigning Botan as your assistant. She will come help you once I've had a chance to brief her. Until then, you're on your own. Try not to get killed again?"

"Heh." Yusuke grinned. "Just leave it to me. Those thieves won't know what hit 'em."

* * *

There was something disgusting about the noises some people made when they ate. The grunting, the groaning, the gulping, the slurping—it was enough to make a person queasy. Gouki was a particularly rude eater. The forest clearing was perfectly still and silent aside from the sounds as he scarfed down his lunch. In this case, _lunch_ referred to a number of translucent, glowing white spheres the kyukonki kept pulling out of the Gakidama like treats from a lunch box.

"Unh, it's been so long," Gouki groaned. He sucked on his fingers.

Kurama, leaning back against a tree with his arms folded across his chest, sent a dull look at Gouki. Hiei, meanwhile, was practically unaware that two other people were in the clearing with him. He was too busy staring at the Kouma-no-Ken. The light that danced along the sword's edge reflected in his eyes, pale and silvery and hypnotic.

It wasn't until Gouki's saliva leaked off his chin and onto his shirt that Kurama cleared his throat.

"_Mister_ Gouki…?" Kurama used the respectful address with more than a trace of sarcasm. He took a small, neatly folded square of cloth from his pocket and held it between his pointer and middle fingers. "Please, I insist."

"What's wrong, Kurama, my spit bothering you?" Gouki wiped the back of his fist against his chin. Normally such a display would make Kurama cringe with distaste, but he managed to keep a straight face this time. "This Gakidama is incredible. Now I can eat as much as I want!" Gouki's grin turned into a leer, his tongue coming out to lick his upper lip. "This whole world will be one big feast for me."

"That's nice," Kurama muttered dryly.

"He has a point, you know."

Kurama blinked, his eyes going wide with momentary surprise. He slowly turned to look at Hiei. "Don't tell me you're actually considering this?"

"Why not?" Hiei held the Kouma-no-Ken aloft, looking up at its shining blade with admiration. No, not just admiration. _Adoration_. "It's strange… Now that I have the sword, it seems such a waste to just hoard it away or sell it. I think I should _use_ it." Hiei's eyes glittered as he swung the sword down, pointing its tip at Kurama. "Think about it, Kurama. Imagine what we could do with these treasures. I can make entire armies of youkai with this sword, the kind that will obey only us. And once the moon becomes full your mirror can grant us any wish we want. The human world could be ours in under a week!"

"No," Kurama said firmly. Hiei took a step back, surprised. "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in a hostile takeover."

Hiei went very, very still. He lowered the sword so it hung limply at his side and stared at Kurama, expressionless.

"What's that supposed to mean…?" Hiei said, his voice dangerously soft. "After all this, you're saying you won't follow through?"

"World domination was never part of the plan to begin with," Kurama reminded him. "I did what we agreed upon. Now I ask that you let me leave peacefully."

Gouki laughed, but neither Kurama nor Hiei turned to include him in their conversation. They simply stared at each other, faces carefully blank, each trying to hide his thoughts from the other. For all they cared, the kyukonki may as well not have been there at all.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day Yoko Kurama went soft! Guess that's what happens when you spend too much time with humans," Gouki snickered, stowing the Gakidama away in his trouser pocket. "Fine, me and Hiei can take this world without you. If you want to back out, go ahead…" He raised his chin to show off his sharp, menacing fangs as he held out an expectant hand. "But we'll be taking that mirror back."

Kurama flicked a sideways glance at him. "Sorry, but that is not going to happen. I need it for something."

Gouki sighed. "Foxes… You always have to make everything so complicated, don't you?"

Suddenly the kyukonki was bounding forward, his fist raised. Kurama took a startled step back.

"I'll make this easy for you!" Gouki grinned widely.

Kurama darted smoothly away just before the punch could fall, and Gouki stumbled a bit. Kurama wasted no time in crouching low to the ground, pressing a pink-glowing hand to the earth. A whirlwind picked up from seemingly nowhere, lifting a number of blades of dried grass until they swirled around the thief's slender form.

"Wait, Kurama!" Hiei protested. "You don't have to kill h…hunh?"

Hiei turned to his left, looking for the source of a shrill beeping sound that had intruded upon the forest. Gouki looked around, equally confused. The whirlwind died down, dropping the grass back onto the ground as Kurama peered over his shoulder.

Seconds later, a human teenager strolled into the clearing. He glanced up from his glowing red wristwatch and beamed at them as if they were his friends.

"Aha! Found you!" the human boy said, clueless as to what he'd just interrupted. "I've been looking all over for you guys. _Man_ does this thing get on your nerves after an hour or two. They could have at least installed a mute button or something." He twisted a dial on the side of his watch and sweatdropped, letting out a melodramatic sigh. "Sheesh, all that just to track down three thieves and some magic toys…"

"How do you know about the treasures?" Hiei demanded.

"Who are you?" Gouki joined in.

"Who, me?" The boy's face brightened as he jabbed a thumb at himself. He proudly announced, "I'm Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective of Earth. Defender of the innocent, defeater of bad guys, and all that good stuff." The thieves stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. Yusuke offered them all a cocky smile. "So, you gonna hand over those treasures, or do I have to mess you guys up first?"


	6. Devourer of Souls

That Which Comes Between Two Mountains

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N:Hello again. Thanks so much for the polite, constructive and encouraging reviews you sent in. Even if I work slowly, I do appreciate feedback. To be honest, it's probably the only reason this chapter is here at all. I've been seriously depressed since I was laid off in December, and I probably would have just let Saisei grind to a halt if you guys didn't keep reminding me to update. So here is the second chapter of _That Which Comes Between Two Mountains_, which completes the story. It is far from my best work, sadly, but at least it's something. Hopefully I will become more inspired when I have a paying job and kids to care for again.

* * *

Devourer of Souls

Yusuke kept right on smiling at the three thieves, waiting for one of them to respond. Gouki was gaping at Yusuke in a way that somehow made him look even more stupid. The second thief, a boy with long red hair styled in loose waves, had his eyes wide open and his mouth shaped a small "oh!" of surprise. The only one who made any noise at all was the third youkai, who was growling softly. His fingers were twitching around the hilt of his sword and one of his catlike eyes seemed to have developed a tic.

It was the third youkai who finally spoke.

"Ha! So this is the best Spirit World could muster?" He smirked in a show of bravado to match Yusuke's. Gouki chuckled, and the red-haired thief closed his eyes and rose to his feet. When those eyes opened again they were looking at Yusuke with soft pity. The shorter youkai carried on, "I didn't think Koenma was this much of a fool."

"Yeah, look at him! Can you sense any spirit energy in him at all?" Gouki asked.

"None," the little youkai replied assuredly. "I could take him out with my bare hands." He held up his sword and flashed a smile at Yusuke. "But I think it would be more fun to try out this sword. What do you say, Detective? Care to be the first test subject?"

"Easy now, Hiei. You don't need to kill him," the red-haired thief said dully. The smaller youkai blinked, surprised to hear his earlier words sent back at him. The redhead shoved his hands in his pockets and began to walk away. "As for you, Detective… As interesting as this has been, I'd rather not be arrested just yet. Farewell."

Hiei whipped around as the redhead walked right past him.

"Huhn? Wait— Kurama!" Hiei's voice rose in anger and what sounded to Yusuke like desperation. "Come back here! You can't just walk out on me…!" Hiei hissed a swearword under his breath and sent a furious glance back at Yusuke, as if this were all his fault. Then the little youkai disappeared in a flicker of black.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Yusuke called after them tauntingly, hoping to lure them back. "If I'm really so weak, why're you running away? Don't think you can take me?"

Gouki snickered, drawing Yusuke's attention back to him.

"As you can see, Detective, I'm still here," Gouki leered. He unfolded his arms and began to walk over to Yusuke. "Let them run. I'm more than enough to kill you anyway."

"Heh, you think so?" Yusuke smirked up at the kyukonki. The guy looked tough, but he had no idea what Yusuke had up his sleeve.

Blue electricity crackled around Yusuke's finger, as if his spirit energy were impatient to be put to use. He clenched his hand, leaving only his index finger outstretched. For a minute Yusuke and Gouki just stared at each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move. A standoff.

Gouki suddenly started to raise his hand, but Yusuke was the quicker draw.

The Spirit Gun went off with a loud blast, a bullet aimed straight at Gouki's chest. For a few seconds the entire top half of the kyukonki was obscured behind the blue-white light. _Well, that's one thief down,_ Yusuke congratulated himself. A moment later, as the light began to dim, his smile fell. _What the— I don't believe this! There's not a single scratch on him…! _Gouki's shirt was gone, reduced to a burnt right sleeve and the bottom part tucked into his jeans, but his skin wasn't even singed.

Yusuke backed up a step, his whole body breaking out in cold sweat. Gouki frowned down at him with mild annoyance.

"Aw, now why'd you have to go and waste your spirit energy like that?" the kyukonki complained. "Now you're not gonna taste as good."

Gouki lunged forward, one enormous fist aimed at Yusuke's head. Yusuke dodged to the right and sent a left hammer fist into Gouki's side just under his ribcage. Or…that's where the hit would have gone if he were fighting a normal human. Yusuke cried out, his vision flashing white as his hand broke with an ugly _snap_.

"Hmph." Gouki twisted around and grabbed Yusuke's forearm. Jerking the damaged arm up, he lifted the human off his feet as if he weighed nothing. "You're not a very smart detective. A kyukonki's skin is solid as rock. You can't hurt me!"

With Yusuke hanging in the air, his left arm raised uselessly above his head, he had no way of blocking the punch Gouki sent under his ribs. Yusuke could do nothing but scream. Gouki's mouth stretched in a wide smile, enjoying the sound. He even paused for a moment to lap up the blood that was smeared all along the outside of the Spirit Detective's hand.

"You taste a little older than you look," Gouki mused. Yusuke let out an enraged yell as he aimed a hard kick at the guy's nuts. All it did was break Yusuke's toes and make Gouki's face fall in a look of irritation. Using his grip on Yusuke's arm, the kyukonki slammed the Spirit Detective to the ground. Yusuke's vocal cords locked up, but in his head he was screaming.

_Oh my…God…_ Yusuke could barely feel the hard ground under his chest. All he could feel was the vicious, throbbing sear of pain in his left side. _I'm really gonna die…_ He cried out weakly as a knee pushed into the small of his back, pinning him down and adding even more pressure to his injury. A large hand gripped his hair, harshly tugging his head back, and something pushed up against the base of his skull. Yusuke felt a strange shift inside of him and took a stuttering breath. What was that? What could be moving like that?

"What're you…doing to me…?" he rasped, feeling another pull, harder this time.

"Hmph… Looks like it's harder to steal the soul of someone so old," Gouki said contemptuously, grinding the Gakidama against the back of Yusuke's neck. "Children's souls are so much easier to take."

"What…?" Yusuke shuddered, feeling whatever was inside of him starting to come loose. It seemed to be tethered to his heart and his brain and his stomach all at once. Whatever mystical threads were keeping it there, he could feel them tearing.

"They taste better, too. Softer, sweeter… None of the toughness and impurities that older souls get," Gouki pondered aloud. "People don't realize how hard it is to eat human souls. Normally a soul can't separate from its body, so you have to eat the flesh along with it—all that extra meat just to get at the stuff you really want. But this Gakidama is great for someone like me. Pulls souls right out of their bodies, perfect, concentrated…delicious."

"You sick bastard… _Aughh!_" Yusuke cried out as Gouki actually slammed the orb against the back of his neck, knocking him senseless.

"I don't get what's so sickening about it. You eat animals, don't you? You eat anything that's lower than you on the food chain." White wisps began to drift out of Yusuke, the broken threads that bound his soul to his body. Any second now that beautiful, glowing white orb would appear. "Well, Detective, just consider yourself the bottom of my food chain."

"Oh, yoo-hoo!" a sugary voice called.

_Thump._

Gouki blinked dumbly. He loosened his grip on the Gakidama, glancing around. A large block of wood had hit him on the head and bounced down to the ground. He frowned at the log, shook his head as if shooing away a fly, and looked up. Something whizzed by in a blur of pink and blue.

"Oops, sorry about that! It looked so much like your head that I thought it belonged to you!" a jeering voice called back to him.

"Another brat from the Spirit World…" Gouki lumbered to his feet, chasing the girl. After a few minutes of running he thought he was catching up, but then the spirit shot ahead with a burst of energy that left shimmery yellow stardust drifting down through the air. Within seconds she had disappeared past the trees. Gouki came to a stop, giving up. He headed back to the clearing, only to find that the Spirit Detective was gone as well.

"Damn," Gouki muttered.

* * *

Yusuke shot upright with a gasp. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't in the forest anymore, and it was several more seconds before he identified the green comforter pooled around his waist and the enormous window to his right.

"What the… I'm home!" Yep, this was his definitely his room. Judging from the light behind the shaded window, it was also late morning or early afternoon. "But how did I get back here? I thought I was dead for sure…"

Hurried footsteps sounded outside his room, and then Atsuko's head poked around the corner of the doorway.

"Yusuke, you're up! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm f—_owww!_" Yusuke yelped as Atsuko smacked him over the back of the head with the rolled up magazine she'd been carrying. "What was that for?"

"For acting like a moron and nearly getting yourself killed!" Atsuko snapped, continuing to swat her son. "What did you do, pick a fight with a pro wrestler?! You'd think you would have learned your lesson by now! How many times do you have to get yourself hurt before you wise up?!"

Yusuke held up his forearm, attempting to shield his head from further abuse. Well, Koenma may have tried to give him a charmed life, but there were some things you just couldn't change.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Yusuke conceded. "I don't know why you're freaking out so much anyways! I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Yep! And you have me to thank for that!" a jovial voice called. The swatting finally stopped, and Yusuke turned to look at his rescuer standing in the doorway.

He let out a very unmanly squeal of surprise.

"Eep! _Botan?!_" he gaped. She giggled and waved, and Yusuke took a moment to look her over. It was definitely her, though she was nearly unrecognizable in normal clothes. She had replaced her pink kimono with a yellow blouse, tight brown trousers, and a set of red fashion suspenders. Yusuke…ahem…couldn't help noticing that the top of her cleavage was visible even with all the buttons of the blouse done up… Whoa, wait a minute, more important things to think about right now. "Hold on, back up. You're the one who saved me?"

Botan smiled and shrugged as if to say it was nothing.

"Now why haven't you introduced me to this young lady?" Atsuko asked, her face breaking into a welcoming grin as she walked toward Botan.

_Huh… I guess other people can see her now,_ Yusuke thought, drowning out Atsuko's offer of tea and Botan's cheerful acceptance. _Last time I saw her she didn't have a real body. Although…__**that**__ sure felt real…_ In his mind he was replaying the last time he had seen Botan. It was all plush lips and sunshiny energy, and why the hell were there bubbles and sparkles and dramatic fluttering kimono sleeves in the memory now? He squeaked and flailed his arms, blotchy red color spreading over the bridge of his nose. _Oh man… Keiko is gonna __**kill**__ me…!_

* * *

Atsuko placed a shiny new tea kettle on the stove and turned on the heat. A tray was laden with a teapot and a set of three cups, and Atsuko dug around in the cupboard, pulling out two unopened packages of rice crackers. She looked between them thoughtfully. Hmm, was Botan a frosted sugar type of girl, or would she like hot and spicy flavor? Atsuko knew so little about her that it was hard to judge.

While Atsuko debated the highly important topic of what kind of crackers to serve her guest, Yusuke pulled the shades up on his window and propped one arm up against the glass.

"You're lucky your mom didn't see the worst of the damage. I healed up your hand and your broken ribs before I brought you back here. All things considered, though, you could have had it a lot worse than that," Botan was explaining with a businesslike air. Yusuke scoffed as he leaned his head against his forearm. As the bitter frustration of defeat settled into the pit of his stomach, Yusuke peered out at the early afternoon scenery. The tenth floor overlooked most of the surrounding buildings. Pretty different from the ground level view he used to have.

"This Spirit Detective thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Yusuke muttered, choosing to focus on bigger problems than his hurt pride. "I found 'em just fine, but my real problem comes once they're in my face. For all the good my Spirit Gun did against Gouki, I may as well be packing a water pistol." He sent a sideways glance at Botan as she came to stand beside him. "Koenma said this guy's got a whole bunch of prior convictions. That means he's been caught before, right? How'd they do it last time?"

Botan frowned worriedly.

"Koenma is asking you to do the work of ten men. That's how many it took to overpower him last time." Botan turned her head to meet Yusuke's incredulous stare. "I don't think that's going to work now. You'll have to come up with a smarter way to beat him. And what's worse, we still don't know anything about the other two thieves."

"They called each other Hiei and Kurama," Yusuke said. "And I'm not sure, but the way they talked and acted… Gouki didn't seem like he had as much say in what went down. It's like they didn't respect him as much." Yusuke pressed his lips into a thin line, swallowing nervously. "Does that mean Gouki is the weakest of the group? That's crazy… How does Koenma expect me to do this?"

Botan closed her eyes with a discouraged sigh. "I really wish I knew…"

As a heavy silence descended between them, Yusuke and Botan became aware of a news report playing on the television in the living room.

"_And now for continued coverage on the mysterious sickness affecting some of the youngest residents of the Sarayashiki area…_"

"Oh, not again," Atsuko pouted, watching the report as she waited for the water to boil. "This is so creepy."

"_Four children have fallen comatose in the popular Kaidan Shopping Center in the last twenty-four hours. Doctors have so far been unable to determine the cause, but investigators have been dispatched to check for possible gas leaks_." The tea kettle began to whistle, and Atsuko hastily hopped off her stool. "_Until a cause can be determined, health officials are advising families to stay inside. If you or someone you love is experiencing any symptoms, please call 1-1-9 for medical assistance…_"

"Weird," Yusuke murmured. Something niggled at the back of his mind. _Looks like it's harder to steal the soul of someone so old… Children's souls are so much easier to take. _A bead of sweat dripped down the side of Yusuke's face as he remembered Gouki's words. _They taste better, too. Softer, sweeter… None of the toughness and impurities that older souls get_… "Hey, Botan. Those kids who are collapsing… Is that what happens when someone takes your soul?"

Botan gripped her own arms in a self-hug, staring down at the streets below. For the first time since Yusuke had met her, she looked genuinely sad.

"I'm afraid so. And once those souls are digested, they disappear forever. They'll stay that way until their bodies die, and then… There won't even be a ghost to go to heaven. As a Grim Reaper, I can't think of a more tragic fate." Yusuke's eyes widened as he imagined those bright little spirits breaking down and dissolving into nothingness. Imagined those kids screaming as their souls ceased to exist… "Destroying someone's soul is one of the worst crimes you can commit by Spirit World law. It's— Huh? Hey, what in the world do you think you're doing?"

Yusuke had walked away from the window.

"You know, my mom says that it takes twenty-four hours for food to be digested," Yusuke commented. He picked up his jacket, swinging it through the air and snapping it to remove the wrinkles from yesterday's use. "That means I still have time."

"Time for what?" Botan asked as Yusuke shoved his arms through his sleeves. When he glanced over his shoulder, a blue-white light reflected faintly behind the blacks of his eyes.

"Time to rip open that bastard's stomach."

* * *

Kaidan Shopping Center was a little less crowded than usual, but that didn't mean the people who had chosen to hang out and shop were any less annoying. They were _there_, for starters. Some of them had elected to wear surgical masks to protect themselves from whatever mystery ailment was going around, but most of them were just meandering about without a care in the world. And a lot of them had their young kids with them. You would think that unexplained comas would put parents a little more on edge.

And they kept staring at Yusuke like he was some kind of idiot or tourist. Stupid Youkai Compass with its stupid non-mutable beeping.

_Well,_ he thought ruefully as he turned the compass off, _I don't really need it anyway._ It was clear that Gouki was lurking around here somewhere, and he ought to be easy to pick out in the crowd. Yusuke would just search for him the old-fashioned way.

Not ten minutes later, a little boy walking alongside his father dropped the toy dinosaur he'd been carrying.

"Huh?" The boy's father looked down when the hand he was holding suddenly went limp. "Shou? Shou, what's wrong? Shou!"

A crowd of worried onlookers gathered almost instantly, and Yusuke hurried over to investigate. Behind the boy's glasses, the glimmer of life in his eyes had disappeared. As Yusuke watched, a sphere of white light rose out of the kid's body and made a beeline down the street. Yusuke followed the soul with his eyes until it disappeared inside a glowing green orb held up by someone casually walking away from the scene. Gouki didn't even look back at the boy's soulless body; for his purposes, that was just a useless rind.

As Gouki made his way out of the shopping center and towards downtown, Yusuke followed him. He hid behind light poles and around the corners of alleys, making quick sprints to his next hiding place so he wouldn't be detected. The kyukonki led Yusuke all the way to a large, deserted yard occupied by dumpsters, unwanted junk and a gutted car.

Finally, Gouki stopped walking.

"You must be new," he commented. "They didn't even have time to teach you some basic lessons in stealth." He glanced over his shoulder with a taunting smile. "You can hide all you want, but unless you cover up your spirit energy too you're not gonna fool anyone."

Yusuke stepped into plain view.

"Damn, you caught me," he said sarcastically. "Guess that's my career as a professional stalker down the drain."

Gouki scoffed and turned around to face the boy.

"You shouldn't have come after me, Spirit Detective. We both know the only reason you have a soul today is because that ferrygirl distracted me. And I'm not going to make that mistake twice." Gouki held up the Gakidama, and the drool that had gathered at the corners of his smile came pouring down in thick, slobbery streams. "This time your soul is mine."

Yusuke made a soft _tch_ of defiance. He slid his foot back and raised his fists, rounding his shoulders. Gouki grinned at Yusuke's fighting stance and played along, mirroring him. From the first, it was obvious who would be in control of this fight. Yusuke was a mess of nerves, tensely watching for an attack. Gouki, meanwhile, was totally relaxed. The youkai made a quick feint, suddenly faking a step forward just for the pleasure of seeing the Spirit Detective scramble back. Yusuke growled at himself as Gouki's laughter sounded in his ears.

_Pull it together,_ Yusuke scolded himself as he dipped his head down behind his fists. _Don't let him psyche you out. It's just like any other fight. You just need to go for it… _Yusuke aimed his first punch, a right hook that Gouki easily stepped back to avoid. The left jab and right roundhouse kick that followed both missed, too. Yusuke kept up the assault, but inwardly he was starting to worry. Had Gouki gotten better? Or…was it Yusuke who had gotten worse? As the kyukonki aimed a sluggish punch at the human's head and Yusuke dropped into a near-crouch just to avoid the hit, the answer was clear. Gouki was the same as yesterday. _Yusuke_ was the one who had changed. He kept thinking about his bruised and broken toes, the disgusting snap his wrist had made… He was scared to attack now, scared to put all his power and speed behind a punch, because if it actually connected—

Crack! Yusuke was screaming as he fell back and down, his left shoulder ablaze with pain. The force of Gouki's punch actually spun Yusuke around, and he fell on his right side. He curled into a tight ball, clutching at his shoulder. He knew he had to get up and fight, but some part of him would much rather curl up and hope for a quick death.

_Get up, get up get up get up! _he thought furiously. Outwardly, he was whimpering like a baby. _What's wrong with you? You get beat up once and now you can't even pick yourself up off the floor?_ Had one defeat really turned him into that much of a wuss?

"You're not putting up much of a fight today. Why'd you bother tracking me down if you aren't gonna fight for real?" Gouki remarked. He bent forward to grab Yusuke by his hair, lifting him up off the ground so he could stare straight into the Spirit Detective's disoriented eyes. Yusuke's left arm hung limply at his side, but his right hand was fumbling upward, fingertips groping up along Gouki's wrist, arm, neck, searching for some weak point, _any_ weak point.

Yusuke's fingertips reached the youkai's jaw, and Gouki chuckled.

"You know, back when I had to eat the body too, I'd always start with the fingers. They've got a nice crunch to them," Gouki commented. He shifted his head down, catching several of Yusuke's fingers in his mouth. Gouki was about to bite down, but he paused. _That's funny. They're…warm…_ His eyes snapped up to the detective's face, where he saw a weak but nonetheless cocky smirk.

"This…real enough for you?" Yusuke rasped. And he shot the Spirit Gun straight into Gouki's mouth.

The grip on his hair went slack, and Yusuke dropped down onto his feet. He quickly backed off a few steps, watching the Spirit Gun do its work. For a moment he could see only the blue-white light. But soon he was left to cry out in denial as that light began to be blocked off. _Come on…! What's it take to kill this guy?!_

Gouki's teeth crunched together as his mouth shut, and he gulped loudly before smacking his lips.

"Don't know what you thought that was going to do…" Gouki leered down at the horrified Spirit Detective. "…but that was a fine snack."

Yusuke stared at Gouki with despair_. That's it, then. I used up my Spirit Gun, and he's still standing. There's no way to beat him,_ Yusuke thought. He stood there, unable even to make himself run as Gouki closed in on him with the Gakidama in hand. _No way…_

In seconds Gouki had grabbed Yusuke by the front of his jacket and lifted him up off his feet. He shoved the Gakidama against Yusuke's chest straight above his heart. Once again, Yusuke could feel his soul threads being torn. He closed his eyes tightly. Dying might not have been so bad, because he already knew what that was like. But he was about to lose more than his life. Soon he would cease to exist at all… _Gakidama is great for someone like me. It pulls souls right out of their bodies…_

Yusuke cracked his eyes open, peering down at the Gakidama, at his own white soul threads being drawn out of his chest and into the green light. Pulled right out as if his flesh wasn't even there. _…Great for someone like me. It pulls souls…_ He reached up with both hands and closed them around the Gakidama. …_right out of their bodies._ Gouki had not been expecting such a brash move, hadn't been keeping a firm grip on the orb. Yusuke managed to take it right from his hands.

"What are you—" The kyukonki's eyes snapped wide when the Gakidama was shoved up against his own chest, right against his ribcage. He gaped down at Yusuke.

"Yeah, this is kinda a last ditch effort thing," Yusuke confessed, manipulating the threads of his soul that were already inside the orb. They wrapped tightly around the Gakidama, seizing control over it. "But if I'm about to die anyway, there's no harm in trying."

Gouki just stared down at him for a moment. He couldn't believe the boy was this stupid. The artifact couldn't work on _him_… But then Gouki felt something shift inside of him.

"H-Hey…" Another sharp tug, and Gouki panicked. "Give it back!" the kyukonki yelled, reaching his hand down to grab the Gakidama. He struggled to take it back from the boy, but torn yellow ribbons of light were already being pulled from his body and into the orb. "Give it—_no_—_ah, AUHHHH!_"

The grip on Yusuke's jacket loosened, and Yusuke took a step back, collapsing onto his backside as he stared up at the kyukonki's unmoving body. Then, the empty shell fell backward. The sound as the body hit the ground was not the slap of flesh, but the heavy clacking crunch of stone on pavement.

Yusuke sat panting, his eyes wide. Petrified of what had just happened, he looked down at the artifact in his twitching, trembling hand.

"H-huh. Guess it worked after all," he said breathlessly. He could see white circles of light drifting along in the green, bobbing and dancing around like fish in a bowl. He narrowed his eyes at a single, ugly yellow-brown blot that floated around amid the pure white. "So that's what an impure soul looks like, huh?" The yellow blot moved away from Yusuke's view like a frightened goldfish swimming away from watchful eyes. "Not so fun to be trapped in there, is it."

For a moment Yusuke just watched, the green glow of the orb shining in his eyes. Then he firmed his expression and concentrated. The green glimmer in his eyes became white, reflecting the soul that was emerging from the orb. Yusuke felt the faintest trace of a smile on his face as each of the five glowing white orbs came free and flew in circles around him, leaving pale streaking spirals of energy in the air. Yusuke could practically feel the joy radiating from them. Smile growing brighter, he held up his free hand, and one of the spirits came to hover over his open palm. There was a strange humming echo from the sphere as it bobbed up and down. Yusuke thought this must be what a soul's laughter sounded like.

_Okay, so…maybe this is kind of worth getting the crap kicked out of you,_ he admitted to himself.

"Go on, now," Yusuke grinned, making a casual throwing motion like a lazy baseball pitch. The five souls all shot off in the direction of their bodies. Yusuke put his free hand on the ground behind him, reclining back and relaxing a bit with the Gakidama in his other hand. One down, two more to go.

He did wonder what he was supposed to do with Gouki's body, though.


End file.
